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MANORS of VIRGINIA 

IN 
COLONIAL TIMES 



OF THIS VOLUME ONE THOUSAND COPIES HAVE BEEN PRINTED 
AND THE TYPE DISTRIBUTED 



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9 



MANORS 
OF VIRGINIA 

IN 

COLONIAL TIMES 

By 
EDITH TUNIS SALE 



WITH SIXTY-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS 
AND TWENTY-TWO GOATS-OF-ARMS 




PHILADELPHIA & LONDON 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 

1909 



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9 



^— ^- - -e — ^ — (S>— ^ — i^—^—^ 



COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 



PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER, 1909 



n A 248044 
SEP 18 1909 



PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS, PHILADELPHIA, U. S.A. 



TO MY MOTHER 
SARAH DABNEY TUNIS 



FOREWORD 




O those who made the 
writing of this book 
a possibility, I shall 
always be as deeply 
grateful as I am ap- 
preciative of their old 
homesteads, for I have 
but taken the family 
histories, romances and genealogies, which they 
so generously unrolled that I might see, and 
have welded them into one volume, hoping it may 
live to tell to future generations the stories of 
their forefathers and of their homes. 

The interest which is shown to-day in the res- 
toration and preservation of early mansions, 
encouraged me to undertake this meagre story 
of Virginia's oldest and most far-famed manor 
houses, no State in the Union boasting such a 
,/ealth of historic estates as this superb old Com- 
monwealth, towards which the rest of the country 
so proudly looks. 

Following that period of bravery and awe 
during which the corner-stone of America was so 



FOREWORD 



firmly laid, came the more pleasing era of planta- 
tion life, founded by men whose names are high 
enrolled in the book of history, and whose homes 
were little kingdoms worthy of the sincere study 
of our less picturesque generation, which may 
in them relive that wonderful yesterday, for- 
getting and regretting this later age in the 
dreams and reveries born of a knowledge of how 
the grandees lived in Colonial times. 

And though America is proud of herself as a 
nation, England may take just pride in the way 
the little colony, planted by her in an unknown 
land, has grown into one of the most remarkable 
of world powers, treasuring in its most historic 
corner a group of ancient countrj^ seats which 
have braved the stress of years and circumstance 
to speak to all who visit them to-day, appealingly 

of the past. 

Edith Tunis Sale. 



CONTENTS 



Sabine Hall 17 

Mount Airy 29 

Chatham 42 

Kenmore 52 

Brooke's Bank 03 

Blandfield 69 

Stratford Hall 79 

Gunston Hall 92 

woodlawn 104 

Tuckahoe 1 14 

Shirley 125 

Westover 134 

Brandon 14,9 

Sherwood Forest I.59 

Carter's Grove 172 

The Nelson House 183 

rosewell 192 

Elsing Green 207 

MONTICELLO 21tJ 

Castle Hill 229 

estouteville 244 

montpelier 259 

Berry Hill 270 

Oatlands 282 



LIST of FAMILIES AND ESTATES 



Allen 

Bailey 

Barbour. . 
Barton. . . . 
Beverley. 
Bisland. . . 

Booth 

Booth 

Bransford 
Braxton. . 
Brooke. . . . 
Browne. . . 
Bruce 

BURWELL . . 

Byrd 

Carter . . . 
Carter. . . . 
Carter. . . . 
Carter. . . . 
Catlett. . . 
Coalter. . . 

Coles 

Coles 

coolidge. . 
Custis 



PAOB 

Tuckahoe" 123 

Chatham " 50 

rosewell " 196 

Kenmore " 60 

Blandfield " 69 

Carter's Grove" 181 

Carter's Grove" 181 

Rosewell" 203 

Shirley" 133 

Elsing Green" 211 

Brooke's Bank " 66 

Elsing Green" 212 

Berry Hill" 273 

Carter's Grove" 172 

Westover " 135 

Oatlands" 282 

Sabine Hall" 18 

Shirley " 126 

We&tover " 146 

Rosewell " 203 

Ch.\tham" 49 

Berry Hill" 272 

Estouteville " 244 

Tuckahoe" 123 

Woodlawn" 104 

9 



LIST of FAMILIES AND ESTATES 



Dandridge 
Deans 

DOUTHAT. . . 

Drewery . 

DUPONT 

EUSTIS 

FiTZHUGH. . 

Gordon. . . . 
Gregory . . . 
Harrison. . 

Hill 

Hopkins. . . 
Howard. . . 
Hutch INS. . 
Jefferson. 

Jones 

Kester. . . . 

Lacy 

Lee 

Levy 

Lewis 

Madison. . . 

Mann 

Mason 

Minge . . . . 
Nelson. . . . 

Page 

Ramsay 

Randolph. 



" Elsing Green " 207 

" Rosewell " 204 

" Westover " 146 

" Westover " 147 

" Montpelier " 259 

" Oatlands " 289 

" Chatham " 42 

" Kenmore " 60 

" Elsing Green " 213 

" Brandon " 150 

"Shirley" 126 

" Brooke's Bank " 68 

" Kenmore " 60 

" Oatlands " 289 

" MONTICELLO " 217 

" Chatham " 49 

" GuNSTON Hall " 102 

"Chatham" 49 

"Stratford Hall" 79 

" monticello " 228 

" Kenmore " 52 

" Montpelier " 259 

"Rosewell" 196 

" GuNSTON Hall " 92 

"Sherwood Forest" 159 

"The Nelson House" 184 

" Rosewell " 192 

" Westover " 147 

" Monticello " 220 

10 




LIST of FAMILIES AND ESTATES 

Randolph "Tuckahoe" 114 

Rives " Castle Hill " 231 

Saunders " Beooke's Bank " 68 

Selden " Westover" 146 

Sharp " Woodlawn " Ill 

Smith " Gunston Hall" 102 

Specht " Gunston Hall " 102 

Starke " Stratford Hall " 88 

Stewart "Stratford Hall" 88 

Tayloe " Mount Airy " 29 

Taylor " Rosewell" 205 

Tyler "Sherwood Forest" 159 

Walker " Castle Hill " 229 

Wellford " Sabine Hall" 27 

Wight "Tuckahoe" 123 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAoa 

EsTOUTEViLLE Frontispiece 

Country-seat of the Coles family since 1771 

CoLEH Coat-of-Arms FroTitispiece 

Sabine Hall 18 

Still in the possession of the original line of Carters 

"King" Carter's Book-plate 18 

Landon Carter 26 

The Hall, Sabine Hall 26 

Showing a Reynolds portrait of the "King" 

Mount Airy 30 

Built by Col. John Tayloe in 1768 

Tayloe Coat-of-Arm8 30 

Colonel John Tayloe 34 

By St. Memin 

Sir Archy 34 

The most famous race horse of Colonial times 

Chatham 42 

Where General Robert E. Lee met Mary Custis 

Colonel William Fitzhugh 44 

From the portrait by Hesselius painted in 1698 

Fitzhugh Coat-of-Arms 44 

Kenmore 52 

The home of Betty Washington 

Lewis Coat-of-Arms 52 

Betty Washington 57 

The Famous Mantel at Kenmore 57 

Governor Robert Brooke 64 

Brooke Coat-of-Arms 64 

Blandfield 73 

Erected by Robert Beverley about 1760 

Beverly Coat-of-Arms 73 

Colonel Richard Lee 80 

The Immigrant. From the painting by Sir Peter Lely 
13 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Thomas Lee 80 

President of Virginia Colony 
Lee Coat-of-Arms 80 

Stratford Hall 82 

The birthplace of Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot 
Lee and Robert E. Lee 

George Mason 95 

From the portrait by Hesselius 

Mason Coat-of-Arms 95 

GuNSTON Hall 96 

The home of one of America's greatest statesmen, George 

Mason 
Colonel Daniel Parke 105 

Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough. From the 

portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller 

Nellie Custis 105 

Portrait by Gilbert Stewart 
Custis Coat-of-Arms 105 

woodlawn 109 

The home of Nellie Custis 

TUCKAHOE 114 

Original seat of the Randolphs of Virginia 

The North Stair, Tuckahoe 117 

Renowned in the architectural annals of the country 
The Hall at Tuckahoe 117 

Sir John and Lady Randolph 118 

From the paintings by E. C. Bruce at William and Mary 
College 

Randolph Coat-of-Arms 118 

"King" Carter 126 

From the painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller 

John Carter 126 

From the painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller 
Carter Coat-of-Arms 126 

Shirley 128 

Built by Colonel Edward Hill in 1650 

The Drawing-room at Shirley 130 

Thr Hall at Shirley ISO 

The River Front of Westover 136 

The most famous country-seat in America 
14 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



The Hall at Westover 138 

The Celebrated North Gateway at Westover 140 

With monogram of William Byrd 

The Tomb of William Byrd 140 

Which dominates the old-fashioned garden 

William Byrd 142 

From the portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneiler 

Evelyn Byrd 142 

From the portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneiler 

Book-plate of Colonel William Byrd 142 

The Corner of a Guest-chamber at Westover 146 

The Drawing-room at Westover 146 

Showing the famous black marble mantel 

Brandon 150 

Mansion erected by Nathaniel Harrison in 1702 

Harrison Coat-of-Arms I JO 

Fan Carried by Evelyn Byrd. . 154 

When she was presented at the Court of St. James 

The Hall at Brandon 154 

Sherwood Forest 167 

The country-seat of President Tyler 
Tyler Crest 1G7 

Carter's Grove 177 

Built by Carter Burwell in 1746 
Burwell Coat-of-Arms 177 

The Hallway, Carter's Guove 178 

The stairway of which still bears the marks of sabre cuts 
from Tarleton's troopers 

William Nelson 184 

Nelson Coat-of-Arms 184 

Nelson House, Yorktown 187 

Headquarters of Lord Cornwallis during the Revolution 

ROSEWELL 198 

Begun by Mann Page in 1725 

Governor John Page 202 

At the age of 16. From the painting by Benjamin West 
at William and Mary College 

Book-plate of Francis Page, 1703 202 

Elsing Green 211 

Built by George Braxton in 1758 
15 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Dandridge Coat-of-Arms 211 

monticello 216 

Where Thomas Jefferson spent 796 days during his two 
terms as president 

Thomas Jefferson 225 

From the painting in Independence Hall, Philadelphia 

Mrs. Martha Randolph 225 

Daughter of Thomas Jefferson. From the painting by 
Thomas Sully 

Jefferson Coat-of-Arms 225 

Castle Hill 230 

Home of the Princess Troubetskoy 

Hon. William Cabell Rives 236 

Judith Walker Rives 236 

Rives Crest 236 

Montpelier 260 

Country-seat of President Madison and where Dolly Mad- 
ison reigned supreme 

Berry Hill 270 

Country-seat of the Bruce family 

Charles Bruce 275 

James Bruce 275 

Bruce Crest 275 

The Celebrated Stairway at Berry Hill 278 

Councillor Carter 284 

Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds 

George Carter 284 

Oatlands 287 

One of the old Carter homesteads, now owned by William 
Corcoran Eustis, Esq. 

Rear View at Oatlands 291 

Showing the hanging gardens. 

The Hall at Oatlands 291 



MANORS of VIRGINIA 



IN 



COLONIAL TIMES 



SABINE HALL 




HE more one studies 
the life of Colonial 
days, the better, more 
inimitable, and happier 
it appears; and since 
the time of the Cava- 
liers, when lords and 
ladies reigned supreme, 
the old Virginia manors and mansions, with their 
historic tales and romantic legends, have been the 
pride of the entire country. 

Virginia being the very stronghold of the aris- 
tocratic Southern planter from the time that the 
first shoot of English civilization was set in 
America, this God-gifted region, in which every 
loyal American proudly feels a personal share 
and interest, to-day claims the fii-st great planta- 
tions of the country. 

2 17 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

It is gratifying to know that we are discover- 
ing the great debt we owe the Colonists; for all 
that we are and all that we have came from these 
bravest of men, who carved a great republic from 
English dominion and new-found lands. 

The majority of these superb plantations, of 
which the greatest men in the country were the 
natural production, are found in Tidewater Vir- 
ginia, the James, the York, the Potomac, and 
the Rappahannock being rich in their inheritance 
of an earlier age. 

On the north shore of the latter river, as one 
sails up the high-banked stream, lie the historic 
acres of Sabine Hall, one of the famous Carter 
homesteads. While not an original grant, the 
Sabine Hall estate of 2000 acres is formed of 
several, including the Underwood and Fauntle- 
roy, tracts, patented in 1650 and bought up by 
Colonel Landon Carter in early 1700. 

John Carter, the first of the name to appear in 
Virginia, was probably from Buckinghamshire, 
England, where the family seat seems to have 
been located, and there is every reason to bebeve 
him to have been one of the loyal Cavaliers who 
fled to the Old Dominion when the cause of 
Charles II. was lost. Settling first in Nanse- 
mond County, he at once became promhient in 

18 



SABINE HALL 



the affairs of the Colony, being elected to the 
House of Burgesses soon after his arrival. 

For bringing eighty persons into the Colony, 
" Colonel John Carter, Esq., Councillor of 
State," was granted 4000 acres of land in 1665. 
From Nansemond he moved to Lancaster 
County, where he was justice of the peace, mem- 
ber of the House of Burgesses, and a prominent 
vestryman of the parish. 

Colonel John Carter left an unrivalled matri- 
monial record, having married first Jane Glyn, 
secondly Eleanor Brocas, thirdly Anne Carter, 
fourthly Sarah Ludlow, and lastly Elizabeth 
Shirley ; but it is from Robert Carter of Coroto- 
man, son of John and of Sarah Ludlow, that the 
Virginia family is descended. 

Colonel John Carter, whose curious tomb may 
still be seen in ancient Christ Church graveyard, 
died in 1669, leaving most of his lands to his sons 
John and Robert; but as the elder died un- 
married, Robert inherited the whole estate, which 
amounted to 18,500 acres. 

Robert Carter was in person and possessions 

justly entitled to the sobriquet of " King," under 

which title he has come down in history as one 

of the most picturesque and commanding figures 

of the country. Speaker of the House of Bur- 
is 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

gesses, Treasurer, President of the Council, and 
acting Governor of Virginia, with his vast for- 
tune, there was no office nor honor which he did 
not attain. 

At his own expense he built Christ Church, 
Lancaster County, the large pew near the pulpit, 
with the whole north cross, being reserved for the 
Carters for all time. According to an old tradi- 
tion, on Sundays no one was allowed to enter the 
church until after the arrival of King Carter's 
coach, when the congregation followed him and 
his family into the sacred edifice. Bishop Meade, 
who has written so feelingly of the old churches, 
says: " Where is the house built in these degen- 
erate days of slight modern architecture which 
may compare with old Christ Church, either 
within or without? " 

A crumbling brick wall encloses the ancient 
burying-ground of the Carter family, smothered 
under a heavy growth of ivy and shaded by 
spreading walnut-trees. At the east end of the 
enclosure is the tomb of King Carter, next those 
of two of his wives, the three being the largest, 
heaviest, and altogether the richest in this coun- 
try. The Latin inscription on the marble slab, 
beneath which rests the lordly proprietor of 
Corotoman, is thus translated by Bishop ISIeade : 

20 



SABINE HALL 



" Here lies buried Robert Carter, Esq., an honorable 
man, who, by noble endowments and pure morals, gave 
lustre to his gentle birth. 

" Rector of William and Mary, he sustained that 
institution in its most trying times. He was Speaker 
of the House of Burgesses, and Treasurer under the 
most serene princes William, Anne, George I. and II. 

" Elected by the House its Speaker for six years, 
and Governor of the Colony for more than a year, 
he upheld equally the regal dignity and the public 
freedom. 

" Possessed of ample wealth, blamelessly acquired, 
he built and endowed, at his own expense, this sacred 
edifice — a signal monument of his piety toward God. 
He furnished it richly. 

" Entertaining his friends kindly, he was neitlier a 
prodigal nor a parsimonious host. 

" His first wife was Judith, daughter of John 
Armistead, Esq. ; his second, Betty, a descendant of the 
noble family of Landons. By these wives he had many 
children, on whose education he expended large sums 
of money. 

" At length, full of honours and of years, when he 
had well performed all the duties of an exemplary 
life, he departed from this world on the 4th day of 
August, in the 69th year of his age. 

" The unhappy lament their lost comforter, tlie wid- 
ows their lost protector, and the orphans their lost 
father." 

81 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

One portrait of King Carter as a young man 
represents a strikingly handsome figure in velvet 
coat and lace cravat, wearing the long, curling 
wig of the period. The luminous eyes seem to 
follow one everywhere. The firm mouth shows 
lines of pity next curves of scorn, and the beauti- 
ful, tapering hand that rests easily on the hilt of 
his sword could only have been used for the most 
delicate of tasks. 

When he died, in 1732, King Carter left a 
princely fortune, consisting as it did of 300,000 
acres of land, about £10,000 sterling, and 1000 
slaves. 

The second wife of Robert Carter was Mrs. 
Elizabeth Willis, daughter of Thomas and Mary 
Landon of Grednal, in the county of Hereford, 
the ancient seat of the Landon family. Of the 
ten children springing from this union, Landon, 
the third son, inherited the Sabine Hall estate. 
He married first a Miss Armistead, secondly 
Maria Byrd, daughter of Colonel William Byrd 
of Westover, and lastly Elizabeth Wormeley of 
Rosegill. Thus it is that the Carter name is so 
intermingled with the Fitzhughs, Berkeleys, 
Champes, Skipwiths, Nelsons, Lees, Braxtons, 
Randolphs, and many others equally distin- 
guished. 

39 



SABINE HALL 



The manor-house of Sabine Hall, named pre- 
sumably for the noted villa of Horace at Tivoli, 
is built on early Georgian lines, and was erected 
by King Carter for his son in 1730, since when it 
has passed direct from father to son. A clearly 
emphasized fact is that throughout its existence 
the plantation has remained in the possession of 
the original line of Carters ; which is particularly 
gratifying, as in only too many beautiful old 
homesteads " some stranger fills the Stuarts' 
throne." 

The approach to the estate is over a surpass- 
ingly lovely wooded roadway more than a mile in 
length, canopied with white-petalled dogwood 
and rosy laurel in the months of springtime, and 
a mass of brilliant color when the first frost 
comes. On reaching the brick lodge, with its 
great white gate, the stranger guest is treated to 
a glimpse of the picturesque days of old, when 
the keeper, an aged negress with red bandana 
and courtesying manner, lifts the latch to let one 
through. 

From the lodge to the mansion stretches a 
thickly turfed park of twenty-five acres, where 
oaks and sycamores, hickories and elms, afford 
dense shade, and are lined with precision into a 
stately avenue showing nature at her most lavish 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

and best. The landscape architecture of this 
winding" driveway gives exquisite ghmpses of 
the river flowing beyond. Just before reaching 
the lawn proper the driveway branches to both 
right and left, joining again in front of the man- 
sion and giving a dignified entrance and exit. 

The grounds, with their incomparable green- 
sward, are adorned here with blue-blossomed 
catalpa trees and there with a group of maples, 
while dotted about in careless fashion are ashes 
and lindens, walnuts and oaks, venerable mon- 
archs of an early forest. A giant sycamore 
lends its ample shade on one side of the house, 
rivalled only by magnificent ailanthus trees, the 
pride of the estate. On the land side these beau- 
tiful grounds slope gently to the wooded vales 
below, gradually losing themselves in the forest 
of many miles in extent. The river front is 
given over to the terraced gardens, where old- 
fashioned box-edged flower squares, stocked and 
laid off in the quaint Colonial fashion, alternate 
with clumps of pure white snowballs and delicate 
lilacs or sweet-smelling calycanthus. Prim and 
pebbly walks, outlined with spring narcissus and 
early snowdrops, April cowslips, or violet beds, 
lead through and over the terraces, which are 
separated from the lowher kitchen-garden by 

24 



SABINE HALL 



magnificent boxwood hedges, unequalled in 
height and symmetry by any in the country. 
Planted there when America was very young, 
these marvellous hedges have fought the fires 
and strifes and wars of centuries, living to-day 
as they did in a time that is long since dead. 
And rolling for perhaps a mile beyond the fruit- 
ful orchards and garden terraces are the verdant 
fields and meadow lands, which slope to the very 
river's edge. 

The bricks of which the manor-house is built 
were made on the plantation, King Carter having 
had his own brick-kiln, and, while originally laid 
in Flemish bond, were washed with cement some 
generations ago, presenting now a soft gray tone 
which contrasts harmoniously with the white 
stone facings and dark green window-blinds. 

A stately portico on the land front of the 
mansion is supported by four massive columns of 
the Tuscan order, which in height equal that of 
the building; and the flag-stone floor is dupli- 
cated in that of the long veranda on the river 
front. 

The interior, rich in panelling and carved 
w^ainscoting, is further adorned with choice ma- 
hogany furniture and rare old portraits, the 
handsomest being that of King Carter, by Sir 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Joshua Reynolds. This portrait, which hangs 
over the sofa in the main hall, shows him as a 
man of thirty-five in picturesque riding-costume ; 
evidently he has just returned from a long ride, 
as he is in the act of removing his gloves before 
reading the letter addressed to " Hon. Robert 
Carter, Virginia," which lies on a near-by table. 
That of Colonel Landon Carter, the first to own 
Sabine Hall, pictures a serious, scholarly man in 
the prime of life ; he wears a short white wig, and 
the plain cloth coat is well set off by the light 
satin waistcoat trimmed lavishly with a wide fancy 
gimp. The lace-edged sleeve-ruffles are counter- 
parts of the stock ends, and the position is one 
of natural ease, with one hand resting upon the 
braid-bordered pocket, while the other arm is 
thrown over a chair. The portrait of Elizabeth 
Armistead, his first wife, shows on the contrary 
a rather coquettish face. The high-bred matron 
wears a gown of shimmering satin, and holds 
carelessly an armful of old-fashioned flowers. 
The rest of the most notable portraits are cata- 
logued as Maria Byrd, daughter of Colonel 
William Byrd of Westover, second wife of Col- 
onel Carter; Elizabeth Wormeley of Rosegill, 
his third wife; Landon Carter II., grandson of 
the first ; Robert Wormeley Carter and his wife, 

36 




LANDON CARTER 




IHK IIAI.L, SAblNK 11AM. 
Showing: a Reynolds portrait of the " Kinp 



SABINE HALL 



Elizabeth Tayloe; Dr. Beverley R. Wellford, 
Mary Alexander, his wife, and Mr. A. N. Well- 
ford. Most of these are from the brush of King 
or Gould. 

It is in the cheery library that one finds great- 
est interest, for treasured here are many rare 
books and historic manuscripts of the first 
owner's day. Every inch of this room is filled 
with romantic associations; each nook and angle 
has its own particular story. That Colonel 
Landon Carter was on terms of intimacy with the 
most distinguished men of his time is evidenced 
in his correspondence, which has been carefully 
preserved, and is interwoven with the names of 
Washington, Lafayette, Richard Henry Lee, 
and Peyton Randolph. 

If it is true that the greatest ornaments of a 
house are its guests, surely no mansion was ever 
more brilliantly adorned than Sabine Hall, the 
very name of which calls forth a procession of 
ghostly figures who once wined and dined, 
danced and slept, under the broad, hospitable 
roof. 

But the sturdy King, with his massive intellect, 
the beautiful maids of centuries ago, the foreign 
lords and the American generals who played 
such a vital part in history-making and acted on 

27 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

the stage of this old country-seat, are now only 
memories and wraiths of a wonderful, unfor- 
gettable past. The life of Sabine Hall has 
proved longer than that of its many masters, and 
in their peaceful, quiet fashion the ancient man- 
sion and noble acres, the ideal home of the 
Southern planter, live in gentle dignity as they 
did when King Carter of Corotoman ruled the 
Northern Neck. 



MOUNT AIRY 




HE Northern Neck of 
Virginia, the whole of 
which was granted by- 
Charles II. to Lord 
Culpeper in 1683, was 
literally and figurative- 
ly the abode of the 
great families of the 
country in its earliest days. Here, within fifteen 
miles of one another, were born Washington, 
INIadison, and Monroe ; while second only in point 
of historic interest were the other distinguished 
settlers who followed the course of the Rappa- 
hannock in seeking their first homes. 

Mount Airy, the ancient estate of the Tayloe 
family, has place in the chronicles of Virginia as 
early as 1650, when William Taylor, the first of 
the name, emigrated to this country and took up 
lands in Lancaster, now Richmond County. He 
married Anne, daughter of Alice Eltonhead and 
Henry Corbin, who came from Hall End, War- 
wickshire, about the same time. It was during 
his life that the orthography of the name Taylor 

29 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

was changed to Tayloe, though the cause is 
entirely unknown. 

His son, Colonel John Tayloe of the *' Old 
House," fell heir to the large estates, which were 
increased by his marriage to Elizabeth Gwynne 
Fauntleroy, widow of Major Stephen Lyde. 
The first Colonel John Tayloe, a man of no 
ordinary ability, was a member of the King's 
Council and prominent in numerous other ways. 
His will, executed January 3, 1744, covers five 
pages, and leaves the hereditary estate of many 
thousand acres to the Honorable John Tayloe, 
born in 1721. 

On July 11, 1747, Colonel John Tayloe 2nd 
was married to Rebecca, daughter of Governor 
George Plater of Maryland, who was from an 
illustrious family in Sotterly, county of Suffolk, 
England, the name having been one of prestige 
previous to the fifteenth century. Colonel Tay- 
loe is generally known as the founder of Mount 
Airy, as it was under his direction that the 
mansion, so memorable in the social annals of 
Virginia, was erected, in 1758. 

This manor-house, justly considered by many 
the handsomest in Virginia, is constructed of red 
sandstone quarried from the surrounding hills, 
the white stone facings having been imported. 

30 







\^^ 



MOUNT AIRY 



In architecture it boasts the distinction of differ- 
ence from any in the land, while it graces 
superbly one of the choicest river sites and com- 
mands to-day the same far-reaching view of the 
silver Rappahannock as it did two centuries ago. 
The large central building is connected with 
smaller wings by covered corridors thirty feet 
long and twelve wide, which curve outward in 
order to meet the wings, placed some feet in front 
of the main portion. This curve, a delightful 
departure from the ordinary, renders the enclosed 
court almost the shape of a horseshoe. 

The interior suffered a severe fire in 1844, but 
most of the heirlooms and treasures were for- 
tunately saved, and were replaced by Mr. Wil- 
liam Tayloe when the house was restored. In 
the hall hangs a famous set of Boydell's Shake- 
speare, and in the drawing-room, as well as in 
most of the rooms, is still much of the rare 
mahogany furniture originally placed there. 
On the wall hangs a handsome portrait of Gov- 
ernor Samuel Ogle of Maryland, by Sir Joshua 
Reynolds, while that of Mrs. Ogle and daughter 
shows the same master-hand. Continuing around 
the room, one sees the likenesses of Governor 
Benjamin Ogle and his wife, Henrietta Hill, 
Anna Maria Cook, wife of Benjamin Ogle, Jr., 

31 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

and Catherine Goodrich, his daughter. The 
superb portrait of Colonel John Tayloe 3rd, 
builder of the famous Octagon House in Wash- 
' ington, was painted in 1804 by Stuart, and 
represents the patrician land-owner in the dark 
clothes of the Continental period, which are re- 
lieved about the throat by the soft lace-trimmed 
stock. He wears no wig, and his white hair con- 
trasts to advantage with his ruddy complexion. 
The portrait of his wife, Anne Ogle, by the same 
renowned artist, shows a slender, graceful figure 
in an Empire gown of white satin. She is sitting 
in an old wing-chair of crimson velvet, with one 
plump arm resting carelessly in her lap. The 
features are a bit haughty, but the expression is 
softened by the cluster of curls about her fore- 
head. Among the rest of the pictured notables, 
whose very names awaken the keenest interest, 
are William Henry Tayloe, Benjamm Ogle 
Tayloe, and Mrs. John Tayloe. 

Over the dining-room mantel, on the river 
front of the house, hangs the likeness of Colonel 
John Tayloe 2nd, founder of ^Mount Airy, which 
was painted in 1700, while near-by the lovely 
face of IMrs. G^ 'mey mother of JNIrs. John 
Tayloe, as she appeared to Sir Godfrey Kneller, 
gleams from the canvas in the old gilt frame. 

32 



MOUNT AIRY 



Adorning the rest of the wall are those of Mrs. 
John Tayloe 2nd and David Lyde, her son by a 
former marriage, Mrs. John Tayloe and daugh- 
ter, afterwards ISIrs. Mann Page, Elizabeth 
Tayloe and her husband, Richard Corbin, mem- 
ber of the King's Council, and Governor George 
Plater of JMaryland. But a brief glance at the 
catalogue will clearly show the Mount Airy 
gallery to be second only to one in the country, 
that containing just one more portrait. 

In the library is a most interesting collection 
of old manuscripts and autograph letters, among 
which are found the names of Washington, Jef- 
ferson, Madison, Monroe, Lafayette, Lord 
Byron, Anthony Trollope, Lady Vane, Admiral 
Wormeley, Daniel Webster, Chief -Justice Mar- 
shall, John Quincy Adams, and Henry Clay. 
Unlimited interest is found here also in the 
colored English prints of famous race-horses 
owned by Colonel John Tajdoe 2nd, all bearing 
the date 1800. But deemed by some connoisseurs 
as the choicest things in the mansion are the rare 
colored engravings, dated 1735, of the mural 
paintings and windows of St. George's Chapel, 
Windsor Castle. 

The manor-house throughout bears evidence 
that Colonel Tayloe was a noted turfman, and in 

3 33 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

most of the rooms are silver trophies won by his 
stable. The one-mile race-track laid off about 
one-eighth of a mile to the north of the grounds 
was in Colonial days one of the very few private 
tracks in America and the scene of the finest 
racing in the land. Virginia's being the mother 
of race-horses as well as of statesmen accounts 
for the excellence of Virginia-bred horses, even 
of some whose pedigrees cannot be traced three 
generations. In a letter dated 1867 the follow- 
ing account of the Mount Airy stable is given: 
" The distinguished stud of the late Colonel John 
Tayloe, of Mount Airy (on the Rappahannock) , 
who was decidedly at the head of the turf at that 
epoch, with Bel Air, Calypso, Grey Diomed, 
Virago, Black Maria, Gallatin, Cap Bearer, and 
the gelding Leviathan, by Virginia-bred Flag of 
Truce. Then succeeded the days of Fairy, 
Amanda, Florizel, the Maid of Oaks, Post Boy, 
Oscar, First Consul, and the many renowned get 
of Diomed, including Sir Archy. The Wash- 
ington City Race-course has been the arena for 
most of these named. At one time it was sup- 
posed that American Eclipse and Henry were 
the best race-horses in America. For years their 
time was unequalled. Both of them were de- 
scended from the distinguished stud at Mount 

34 




COLONEL JOHN TAYLOE 
By Si. Meniin 




>j«r!i».'>-. 



SIR ARCHV 
The most famous raoe horse of Colonial times 



MOUNT AIRY 



Airy." Even an Englishman who dishked to 
credit this country with anything good was 
forced to admit Sir Archy's fame, though he 
coupled it with the assertion that he was the only 
American horse known in England. From this 
celebrated sire the noted Hambletonian stables in 
Kentucky are descended. 

For some years Colonel Tayloe was President 
of the Washington City Jockey Club, of which 
he was the founder, that race-course being per- 
haps the most notable in America. 

Blount Airy lying as it did on the turnpike 
between Williamsburg and Philadelphia, all the 
notables who passed along the highway were 
lavishly entertained at the hospitable mansion, 
the stories of which have come down like a breath 
from an age forever irrecoverable. Among the 
cherished records of the old homestead is one 
telling of the raspberries from the Mount Airy 
greenhouse that were sent by Mrs. Tayloe to the 
Marquis de Lafayette in the month of February. 

In 1776 Colonel John Tayloe 2nd was a mem- 
ber of the King's Council under Lord Dunmore, 
and later was one of the first Republican Council 
under Governor Henry. An extract from a let- 
ter dated August 4, 1772, proves Colonel Tay- 
loe's thought for the welfare of his children, 

35 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

the letter being written to Ralph Wormeley in 
connection with the marriage of his daughter to 
a son of Mr. Wormeley: 

" The provision you propose for your son in 
your lifetime, with what will be his after, is satis- 
factory to me, provided it be not too heavily 
encumbered with legacies and debts, and it is 
necessary to guard against any want that may 
possibly happen ; therefore approve of your pro- 
posal with respect to a settlement, in case you 
should survive your son, in either way you please. 
I only wish my daughter's change in life to be 
made comfortable to her, and guarded against 
every contingency. I am satisfied she can live 
happily with you, yet my tenderness for her 
creates fears, I must own, and hope they may 
never be more. But the subject is too tender to 
speak more plainly upon. I proposed the only 
mode in my power to give my daughter a for- 
tune, and, if not accepted, I will not engage to 
do what depends on the will of others, and not 
my own; for it will not suit my convenience to 
pay her fortune in any other manner than from 
moneys due to me, of which I have not been able 
to collect a sufficiency to pay my eldest daugh- 
ter's fortune, who, though in affluence, is yet 
entitled to the preference, and must have it from 

36 



MOUNT AIRY 



me unless otherwise proposed by her husband, 
or shall think I do not do justice. My second 
is otherwise provided for. Nannie stands next 
in turn, but, having no offer yet, may be provided 
for in time, perhaps as soon as wanted. My de- 
sire is to make my children as happy as I can, 
and as soon as possible." 

Colonel Tayloe's wise forethought was un- 
doubtedly responsible for the brilliant marriages 
contracted by his eight daughters, a distinguished 
record unrivalled by any family in the country. 
That they all married gentlemen of the highest 
position is seen from the following: 

Elizabeth, born in 1750, married in 1767 
Colonel Edward Lloyd of Wye, Talbot County, 
Maryland, President of the Council of that state 
and father of Governor Edward Lloyd. 

Rebecca, born in 1752, married in 1769 Francis 
Lightfoot Lee, signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. 

Anne Corbin, born in 1753, married in 1773 
Major Thomas Lomax of Port Tobago, a mag- 
nificent Rappahannock River estate. 

Eleanor, born in 1756, married in 1772 the 
Honorable Ralph Wormeley of Rosegill, a mem- 
ber of the King's Council. 

Mary, born in 1759, married in 1776 Colonel 

37 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Mann Page of Spottsylvania County, half- 
brother of Governor John Page. 

Catherine, born in 1761, married in 1780 Lan- 
don Carter of Sabine Hall, the son of Robert, 
" King " Carter of Corotoman. 

Sarah, born in 1765, married in 1799 Colonel 
William Augustine Washington, nephew of the 
General. 

Jane, born in 1774, married in 1791 Colonel 
Robert Beverley, of the family so prominent in 
the early days of the Colony. 

On the death of Colonel Tayloe, his only son, 
Colonel John Tayloe 3rd, inherited the Mount 
Airy estate. Colonel Tayloe, born in 1771, was 
then but eight years old. He was educated at 
Eton, where he numbered such men as Welling- 
ton, George Canning, Sir Edward Thornton, the 
ISIarquis of Waterford, Lord Graves, and Sir 
Grey Skipwith as his friends and classmates. 

In 1792 he married Anne, daughter of Gov- 
pernor Benjamin Ogle of IVIaryland, after which 
he took a very active part in public life. He was 
a captain of dragoons under General Henry Lee, 
and was appointed in 1799 by President Adams 
a major of light dragoons, U. S. A. He served 
nine years as Delegate and Senator in the Vir- 
ginia Legislature, and in the War of 1812 was 

38 



MOUNT AIRY 



in command of the cavalry of the District of 
Columbia. That he was a warm friend of 
George Washington is proven in his correspond- 
ence, which is still preserved, and among which is 
found a letter illustrating the esteem in which he 
was held: 

" Mount Veenon, 12th February, 1799. 
" Dear Sir : 

"By your servant, I have this moment (on mj 
return from Alexandria) been favored with your two 
letters of the 10th instant. 

" For the compliment you have been pleased to pay 
me, in asking my opinion of the eligibility of accepting 
your late appointment in the Army of the United 
States, I pray you to accept my thanks. 

" However desirous I might have been of seeing you 
engaged in that line, candor requires that I should 
declare that, under your statement of the circumstances 
of the case, I am inclined to believe that your services 
in the civil line, in the present crisis of our affairs, 
and the temper in particular in which this state appears 
to be (if it be fair to form judgment from the acts of 
its legislature), would be more important. The first 
is contingent, of course may or may not be called for, 
according to our doings in the latter. The second is 
in existence, and requires the active and, I may venture 
to add, the immediate exertions of the friends of order 
and good government, to prevent the evils in which it is 

39 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

but too apparent another description of men among 
us are endeavoring to involve the United States. 

" No evil, I perceive, can result at this stage of the 
recruiting service from the postponement of a final 
decision respecting your appointment to a Majority in 
the Regiment of Light Dragoons ; and as you have it 
in contemplation (as apparent by your letter to the 
Secretary of War) to visit Philadelphia shortly, I will 
suspend a further expression of my sentiments on this 
subject until I have the pleasure of seeing you at this 
place. 

" With best respects to Mrs. Tayloe, in which Mrs. 
Washington and Miss Custis unite, I am, dear sir, 
" Your most obedient and humble servant, 
" Geo. Washington." 

When Colonel Tayloe died, in 1828, the plan- 
tation went to Colonel William Tayloe, from 
whom it was inherited by Mr. Henry Tayloe, and 
until very recently, when it passed to the children 
of the latter, was perhaps the only estate in the 
country which has descended from father to son 
in direct succession without one break in the line. 

The moss-grown, crumbling brick walls of the 
burying-ground enclose the tombs of some of the 
country's most illustrious dead, the newer shafts 
standing out somewhat crudely against the 
ancient bricks of time-stained tone. Blue peri- 

40 



MOUNT AIRY 



winkle riots above the old mounds protecting 
the quiet sleepers from summer sun and winter 
snow. 

The beautiful park, ending in a famous cedar 
avenue, was stocked with deer during the life of 
the founder of Mount Airy, and is still pictu- 
resque in vale and greenery, though the deer feed 
there no more. Upon the terraces at both fronts 
of the house grow great box hedges, while others, 
where purple lilacs mingle with the white, border 
the walkways, well-bred citizens of the garden, 
never overstepping the bounds of conven- 
tionality. 

Beneath the old roof of the manor-house chil- 
dren were born, to die in the shadow of the self- 
same spot. Beautiful w^omen of many social 
graces dispensed here a bounteous hosj^itality, 
and wise men who served fii'st their king and then 
their country left here the priceless heritage of 
an unsullied name. There was always a royal 
welcome in this fine old Virginia homestead for 
the stranger visitor as well as the titled guest. 
And it is only in such environment that we realize 
keenly the picturesque figure of the Colonial 
Cavalier, which is bravely silhouetted like some 
brilliant decoration against the neutral back- 
ground of to-day. 

41 



CHATHAM 




IRECTLY across the 
river from Fredericks- 
burg, that ancient town 
of Stafford County, 
where a web of historic 
association spreads over 
the beautiful valley, 
Chatham Mansion, pic- 
turesque yet in its changed surroundings, is liv- 
ing in a ripe old age. 

No homestead in the country excels this estate 
in point of history or tradition, for the first mas- 
ter, William Fitzhugh, was one of the most 
renowned men of the Colonies, in whose veins 
was said to run the blood of the Barons of 
Ravensworth. 

According to Burke, the name Fitzhugh, 
though known since the Conquest, \vas only ap- 
propriated by that family in the reign of Edward 
III., when the ancestor Bardolph was Lord of 
Ravensworth. 

One genealogist, who seems to have been 
scrupulously careful in Ins research, says: " From 

43 



CHATHAM 



this ancestor, the family is traced from father to 
son through the following generations: Bar- 
dolph was succeeded by his son Akaris Fitz- 
Bardolph; he by Hervey Fitz-Akaris; he by 
Henry Fitz-Hervey ; then Randolph Fitz-Henry 
was succeeded by his brother Hugh Fitz-Henry ; 
he died in 1304, and was followed by his son, 
Henry Fitz-Hugh, which name has been adopted 
by his descendants to this day." It was this 
Henr}-^ Fitz-Hugh who was prominent in the 
Wars of the Roses, and was summoned by writ 
to Parliament in 1321 as Baron Fitz-Hugh, 
being the first to bear that title, which continued 
unbrokenly in the male line until the seventh 
baron, when the barony " fell into abeyance." 
Catherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIIL, was 
the granddaughter of the last Lord Fitz-Hugh. 

Fame followed the family to America, whither 
William Fitzhugh, the son of a barrister of 
Bedford, England, emigrated in 1670. Four 
years later he married Sarah, daughter of John 
Tucker of Westmoreland County, Virginia, and 
a generally credited tradition is that the little 
bride of eleven years was sent by her husband to 
England soon after the ceremony in order that 
her education might be perfected. 

William Fitzhugh, the Immigrant, was not 

43 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

only an eminent man of letters, but the ablest 
lawyer in Virginia. He it was who was counsel- 
lor for Robert Beverley in his celebrated case, 
while another of his clients was Lord Culpeper, 
who at that time held a grant from Charles I. for 
all Virginia. 

The portrait of William Fitzhugh, the Immi- 
grant, which is now in the collection of Mr. 
Douglas H. Thomas of Baltimore, was painted 
by Hesselius in 1698. His naturally strong 
features are given an iron severity by the heavy 
black wig which falls stiffly upon his shoulders, 
and will and determination are written in every 
line of his face. 

The letters of William Fitzhugh, the originals 
of which are in the library of Harvard Univer- 
sity, are no less valuable for their literary style 
than as historical records of the seventeenth 
century. 

On his death, in 1701, his estate of 5^,054^ acres 
in King George, Stafford, and Essex Counties, 
was divided among his five sons, William, Henry, 
Thomas, George, and John. William Fitzhugh, 
of Eagle's Nest, married Anne, daughter of 
Richard and La?titia Corbin Lee. Their son 
Henry married Lucy, daughter of King Carter, 
these being the parents of V^^illiam Fitzhugh of 




COLONKL WILLIAM FIT/HUOH 
From tile portrait by Hesselius painted in IfiflS 




CHATHAM 



Chatham, who inlierited the greater part of the 
18,723 acres left to his father. 

Born August 24, 1741, William Fitzhugh, the 
fourth of the name in Virginia, displayed at an 
early age an ability for public life. He was a 
member of the House of Burgesses in 1772, and 
was elected to the Continental Congress in 1779, 
besides holding other important offices. He 
married Anne Boiling Randolph, daughter of 
Peter Randolph of Chatsworth, Henrico County, 
and spent the majority of his life at Chatham, the 
mansion of which was erected in or about 1720, 
according to an old brick found on the place. 

There is no finer example of the long Colonial 
architecture than this homestead, with a frontage 
of 210 feet, the two-story central building being 
flanked by one-story wings connected with the 
main portion by covered corridors. The bricks 
of which the mansion is built are said to have been 
brought from England, though there is room for 
doubt in this assertion ; but the ivj^ with which it is 
hung in parts is known to have come from 
abroad. 

The great square hall, the walls of which are 
panelled, measures twenty-six by twenty-six feet, 
the high-ceiled rooms on either side being twenty- 
four by twenty-four. The handsome panelling 

45 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

torn out by the soldiers during the Civil War has 
never been entirely restored, but the curtains run- 
ning along the sides of the house still preserve 
the wainscoting intact. 

The drawing-room and library are both beauti- 
fully wainscoted, and though the nine rooms of 
the first floor originally showed this ornamenta- 
tion, much was destroyed during the Civil War. 
The inside walls are fully two feet thick, and in 
all the windows are deep seats that invite the rest 
of the modern guest as they did that of the maids 
and Cavaliers of many years ago. 

The situation of the manor-house, on an emi- 
nence of the Rappahannock, commands a mag- 
nificent view of the country around, covering as 
it does an area of Virginia's most historic ground. 
To the right of the house is the original kitchen, 
with its enormous fireplace and roasting-crane, 
and on the left is a duplicate building in the old 
ojffice. 

The vast ten-acre lawn is studded with splendid 
trees standing singly or in groups, conspicuous 
among them being the silver poplars that grow 
twice the height of the house. Picturesque walks 
through grounds and garden are outlined with 
trees of flowering boxwood, that attract the 
earliest and laziest bees by their pungent fra- 

46 



CHATHAM 



grance. And when the moon rises back of the 
woodlands, or only stars light the silent night, 
back and forth through the dew-drenched hedges 
trips " the White Lady," silently weeping and 
wringing her hands. Who she is, or why she 
walks there, no one is able to tell ; yet night after 
night, through century after century, this sad 
MTaith of some once gay being haunts the 
" Ghost Walk " of Chatham, perhaps in heart- 
broken longing for the daj^s forever irrecov- 
erable. 

Another weird feature of Chatham is the In- 
dian Cave in the North Ravine, said to have been 
hewn from the rock long before the white man 
came, but found and used by him as a hiding- 
place during the Revolution. 

In this old home were always illustrious vis- 
itors, and many and interesting are the legends 
told of the princely life of William Fitzhugh, 
who entertained with a royal and lavish hand. 
Chatham was a second home for Washington, the 
room known as the west chamber always having 
been occupied by him. Lafayette, too, was en- 
tertained here after the siege of Yorktown. 

Being an ardent devotee of the turf, William 
Fitzhugh had laid off on the estate a private race- 
track, where his famous horses were put through 

47 



COLONIAI. MANORS of VIRGINIA 

their schooling before they appeared at the public 
meets. In 1775 his renowned Regulus, Bril- 
liant, and Kitty Fisher were favorites on the most 
prominent race-courses. 

Being so constantly filled with guests, and 
counting among them only the most eminent in 
the land, one marvels not at the many meetings 
which took place at Chatham, some of which 
made, while others helped to unmake, history. 
Here one breathes the essence of romance; the 
very air teems with the history of years, and day- 
dreams and reveries live in the memory long after 
a visit to the celebrated spot. 

It was at Chatham that John Dandridge, the 
father of JMartha Washington, breathed his last. 
It was at Chatham that Martha Custis first met 
Washington. It was at Chatham that JMary 
Fitzhugh married George Washington Parke 
Custis in 1806, and it was under tJiis same hos- 
pitable roof that IMary Custis met her ido], 
Robert Edward Lee. But the prettiest story of 
all is that told of General Lee, who, when this 
mansion was headquarters for the Federal army, 
refused to shell it from his vantage-point on 
Marye's Heights, rather than destroy one limb 
or shingle of the place which held his most sacred 
memories. 

48 



CHATHAM 



Towards the latter part of his life, the stren- 
uous entertaining began to tell on the nerves and 
income of William Fitzhugh, who sought refuge 
at Ravensworth, in Fairfax County, in which 
mansion he reproduced Chatham, the material 
being wood instead of brick. 

Though it was through him that the estate of 
Chatham achieved its fame, William Fitzhugh 
was neither born nor buried there. 

The many acres of this old plantation, now re- 
duced to but few, fell to Henry Fitzhugh, and 
now the only living descendants of the renowned 
William Fitzhugh are the children and grand- 
children of General Robert E. Lee. 

After the estate passed out of the Fitzhugh 
family, it was purchased by Major Churchill 
Jones, who left it to his brother, William Jones, 
from whom it went to his daughter, Mrs. Coalter, 
and from her to a younger daughter of William 
Jones, Mrs. J. Horace Lacy. The fact that it 
was the home of Major Lacy during the Civil 
War accounts for its having been known as 
*' Lacy's " to both armies. Being the headquar- 
ters of Hooker, Sumner, and McDowell, the 
mansion and fair acres suffered cruelly from the 
vandalism of ignorant troops, who tore away with 
a ruthless hand the marks of history, and 

4 49 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

wrenched from the ground the roots and blossoms 
of seons long past. At Chatham was held the 
council of war that decided upon the battle of 
Fredericksburg, and after the battle the walls 
that once rang with gay song and laughter echoed 
only to the moans of wounded soldiers, the house 
being then a temporary hospital. 

After the war Major Lacy returned to his 
sadly altered estate, but troubles had come too 
thick and fast, and a short while afterwards it 
was sold. During the next twenty years the 
place was one of changing masters, but finally, in 
1900, it was purchased by Mr. Fleming Bailey, 
and came into its own again. 

Great trees shattered by the shells of '62 are 
now hung with ivy in thick profusion; honey- 
suckle riots in rich luxuriance, and in the dear 
little garden squares old-fashioned flowers are 
once more blooming, silently giving their beauty 
and fragrance in reparation for the cruel years of 
war. 

Among the melange of lore and legend with 
which the Rappahannock homesteads abound, 
one of the prettiest tells of Governor Spots- 
wood's first voyage up the river, to the music of 
skylarks brought from England to be set free in 
the new-found land. When the sun sinks into 



CHATHAM 



the silvery river, lengthening the shadows on the 
Chatham lawn, the slender throats of these little 
songsters are filled with melody for the stranger 
who pauses in rapture at the faultlessly lovely 
scene. 

And turning to the old mansion, enveloped in 
the peace and quiet of history made and cen- 
turies dead, one realizes that happy days have 
come once more to Chatham, which will live for 
years set to the music of Spotswood's larks. 



KENMORE 




ROM Stafford Heights, 
the picturesque hills 
that form the palisades 
of the Rappahannock 
River, the historic town 
of Fredericksburg is 
viewed in its luxurious 
setting of rolling meadow and forest land, lying 
as some incomparable jewel, endowed by nature 
and beloved by man. 

Here, in a quiet, secluded spot, a fitting monu- 
ment of history made of lore and legend, still 
stands Kenmore, the rare old home built by 
Colonel Fielding Lewis in 1749. Fredericks- 
burg was somewhat unique among Virginia 
towns, inasmuch as many of the landed gentry 
lived there in preference to their country-seats, 
as was the usual custom. 

The name of Lewis is one of the oldest in 
English history and among the most distin- 
guished in that of America. Mr. Hayden, than 
whom there is no better authority in the country, 
traces the Virginia branch of the family from 

52 



f.T?f^- 



= y. 



- 5» 












KENMORE 



Zachary Lewis, the Immigrant of 1692. Still 
another tradition says that they are descended 
from General Robert Lewis, of Brecon, Wales, 
who settled in Gloucester County in 1635. 
Whether the John Lewis who was living in 
Gloucester in 1660 was the son of General 
Robert Lewis and his wife Elizabeth cannot be 
said, but the former is known to have married 
Isabella Warner, sister of Augustine Warner, 
who was Speaker of the House of Burgesses. 

Their son, Councillor John Lewis, born in 
1669, married Elizabeth Warner, his cousin, and 
was the father of John, born in 1692, the third of 
the name and line in Virginia. John 3rd 
married Frances Fielding, they being the parents 
of Colonel Fielding Lewis, who was born July 
7, 1725. 

In 1746 Colonel Lewis married Catharine, an 
aunt of George Washington, and after her death 
he married the General's only sister. The follow- 
ing entry was made by Colonel Lewis in the 
family Bible, now owned by the Lewis family 
of Marmion, King George County: " I was 
married to Miss Betty Washington, sister of 
General George Washington, 7th day of May, 
1750." 

Though the Kenmore estate once numbered so 

53 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

many acres, it has now dwindled to few, but these, 
placed away and apart from the rest of the town, 
give an effect of ease and space unwarranted by 
the area. The grounds are partially enclosed by 
a heavy brick wall of English appearance, to 
which ivy clings with grim tenacity, and the 
mosses of ages have mellowed its tone. 

Great trees stand sentinel around the mansion 
— oaks, maples, and poplars, firs and sycamores ; 
and where some gaunt and withered forest mon- 
arch has succumbed to the waste of time and 
storm, honeysuckle and woodbine lend their 
sweet-scented garlands in pitying tribute to the 
life it once had. 

The old brick mansion could tell a tale of 
romance and history blended, could the staunch 
old walls but speak ; for this was the house where 
Washington often found needed rest after tire- 
less duty, and where his mother, " the Rose of 
Epping Forest," lived at the last. To-day the 
transient visitor or stranger guest pauses always, 
almost directly in front of Kenmore, and gazes 
reverently at a monument bearing the simple in- 
scription, " Mary, the Mother of Washington," 
beneath which lies the quiet sleeper who blessed 
her country as no other woman can. At Ken- 
more, too, was born Major Lawrence Lewis, who 
married the beautiful Nellie Custis. 

54 



KENMORE 



The mansion played its first part in history in 
the French and Indian War of 1755-1757, being 
at that time a rendezvous for recruits as well as 
headquarters for Washington, then a colonel in 
the English army and but twenty-six years of 
age. Twenty years later, when America was in 
the throes of her greatest struggle, General 
Washington many times sought his sister's fire- 
side for a council of war or a breath of home. 
During the Civil War the dwelling served as 
barracks for Federal sharp-shooters, and it bears 
to-day the marks and scars of many shells which 
struck it cruelly during those troublous times. 
But Colonel Lewis must have had in view a 
lengthy existence for the home he presented to 
his little bride, the thick walls and massive 
foundations of which have weathered so bravely 
three bitter wars. 

Being desirous of having this home one of the 
handsomest in all Virginia, the early builder 
spared neither time, trouble, nor expense to attain 
that end, and the remarkable materials and work- 
manship bespeak both an architectural triumph 
and practical forethought. In color the mansion 
is the true Colonial buff, with the framework of 
the doors and window-arches white, which con- 
trasts restfully with the time-stained stone steps 

55 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

that have borne the footsteps of two hundred 
years of joy and sorrow, peace and war. The 
arcade forming a left wing to the building pre- 
sents rather original lines, having served no prac- 
tical purpose beyond proving a decorative relief 
from the kitchen, which is placed in the rear. But 
under these graceful arches perhaps Betty Wash- 
ington often sat with a bit of tatting or an old- 
time sampler. Here, too, fancy makes a picture 
of the greatest man of a very great country, 
pacing the floor of the quaint arcade and revel- 
ling in the air of peace and comfort or frowning 
over grave thoughts that came. 

The unobtrusive entrance thrown out on the 
right of the dwelling is thoroughly Colonial. 
The main entrance-door of heavy oak is adorned 
with an antique brass knocker, and opens immedi- 
ately into the central hallway, which runs the 
depth of the house, joining and becoming a part 
of the library in the rear, and thus rendering the 
exit to that portico direct from the library — a 
charming idea, and one well executed. The 
panelling and wainscoting of the graceful stair- 
way are painted white, as are the balustrades, in 
keeping with the rest of the hall. The doorway 
shows pilasters as decoration, as well as a semi- 
circular cornice, which gives an extremely good 

56 




BETTV WASHINGTON 




llu- lanious iiianli'l al Keiiinoro, llic plastic (lo<-()iati()iis fif 
which were <lesi(;iu'(i by (leiicral VVa.sliiiijrtoii ami represent 
several of Alsop's fabU's, notably that of "llie Kox and the 
Crow." 



KENMORE 



effect, while the carving of the cornice proper is 
far beyond the usual. An historic marquetry 
table stands under the old-fashioned mirror, and 
a grandfather's clock and rare Jacobean chairs 
render the hall furniture harmonious on the 
whole and artistic in detail. 

The greatest and most unusual feature of 
Kenmore lies undoubtedly in its ceiling decora- 
tions, incomparable marvels of untiring care and 
faultless execution. The plaster designs are said 
to have been executed by a British prisoner held 
during the Revolution, and of the graceful clus- 
ters of flowers, baskets of fruits, and horns of 
plenty more than twenty thousand separate and 
distinct pieces are clearly visible. The library 
ceiling is one of the most interesting in the man- 
sion, tradition claiming that the plaster decora- 
tion over the mantel was designed by General 
Washington. It portrays several of iE sop's 
fables, conspicuously that of " The Fox and the 
Crow." The mantel itself and the pediments are 
of wood beautifully carved. The great arched 
doorway of this hall-library, with its double 
pilasters and superbly carved frame, is an ex- 
quisite bit of workmanship, and near it stands 
the quaint old clock which belonged to Mary 
Washington, still monotonously telling the pass- 

57 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

ing of time. The walls, which might otherwise 
be called too prim and severe, are lent distinction 
and charm by the portraits which hang thereon, 
and the furniture of this eighteenth century room 
is of mahogany and rosewood, the chief ornament 
being the piece of bronze on the centre table, 
which is one of Barye's famous bits. 

The drawing-room on the right of the hall 
adjoining the library cherishes much of liistoric 
interest, for here have always gathered famous 
men and women, too many of whom are now sad 
wraiths that haunt the living present in longing 
for irrecoverable days. Among the choice por- 
traits hanging here is a noted one of Colonel 
John Eager Howard, who was voted a medal by 
Congress for bravery at the battle of Cowpens, 
this medal being now one of the most prized of 
all the Kenmore treasures. Harding's portrait 
represents the kindly face of the old aristocrat 
with a half-genial, half-humorous expression 
about the mouth. His white hair attests that he 
had then been married many years to that cele- 
brated, fractious beauty. Mistress Peggy Chew, 
and the plain, dark coat, beneath which shows a 
lighter waistcoat topped with an old-fashioned 
stock, is that of the elderly gentleman of post- 
Revolutionary times. In the drawing-room are 

58 



KENMORE 



again seen the wonderful ceiling and mantel 
decorations. Still true to the Colonial period, 
the room holds neither superfluous furnishing nor 
ornaments, the most conspicuous among the 
latter being the marble busts placed in the chim- 
ney alcoves, which came from the hand of the 
far-famed Powers. 

In the midst of such delightful surroundings, 
where history and romance are so closely mingled, 
one readily gives way to silent revery and wistful 
thoughts of the times and of the people who 
lived before. Throughout the mansion are evi- 
dences of the wealth and culture of the eighteenth 
century architect-builder, aided and augmented 
by the generations who have succeeded to the 
beautiful old home. 

Occupying a very prominent position. Colonel 
Lewis, on being proposed for the office of County 
Lieutenant for Spottsylvania in 1757, was thus 
written of by Colonel John Thornton: " Col. 
Fielding Lewis, a gent, of fortune and character 
in the county and much esteemed by the people, 
who I make no doubt would readily exert them- 
selves under such a Gent, in case of a sudden call 
to the defence of our frontier." He was ap- 
pointed by the General Assembly held at Wil- 
liamsburg in 1761 one of the commissioners to 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

examine into the accounts of the militia lately 
ordered into active service, and in 1772 was com- 
missioned ^ith others to strike the dividing line 
between King George and Stafford Counties. 
Being a man of great public spirit, Colonel 
Lewis, though prevented from active duty by ill 
health, gave his money freely to the patriot cause, 
forwarding at one time £7000 sterling to carry 
on the manufacture of arms. In fact, at one 
time he was so much embarrassed by the advances 
he had made to the Colony of Virginia that he 
was unable to pay his taxes. 

Colonel Lewis, born July 7, 1725, died at Ken- 
more in 1781, when his children scattered over the 
country. The estate was sold to Mr. Gordon, 
from whom it was bought by Mr. Thomas S. 
Barton in 1796. Mr. Barton, who was promi- 
nent during the Civil War, was the son of Lieu- 
tenant Seth Barton, a gallant j'^oung officer of 
Rhode Island who distinguished himself during 
the Revolution, while his son of the same name 
was a general in the Confederate army. 

About twenty-five years ago the property was 
bought by Mr. W. Key Howard. Mr. Howard, 
of one of the most illustrious families in the 
country, was the grandnephew of Francis Scott 
Key, of " Star-spangled Banner " fame, and his 

60 



KENMORE 



portrait hangs at Kenmore near those of Lieuten- 
ant William Howard and the renowned Colonel 
John Eager Howard. When the fine old home- 
stead came into his possession, it was in very bad 
repair, never having recovered from the effects of 
the Civil War, the scars of which showed only 
too plainly. The grounds, now so charmingly 
restful, were then used as a common, without re- 
gard to the damage, and the atmosphere of the 
entire surroundings was one of inertia born of 
years of strife and struggle for a lost cause. 

But bright days have once more come to Ken- 
more, and the historic mansion, in its setting of 
grand old trees and velvet greensward, harmon- 
izes softly with springtime verdure or gleams in 
contrast to winter snow. With the first bird-song 
of early April, narcissuses uncover their winsome 
faces, followed in sequence by double jonquils 
clustered over the lawn in great splashes of 
brightest gold: Mary Washington's loved and 
cherished blossoms, blooming for this generation 
in honor of auld lang syne. 

Kenmore, in its lengthy existence, has sheltered 
many men of many minds. The walls of the 
historic mansion have responded to the mirth of 
Washington, Jefferson, Lafayette, and other 
boon companions, and again to the sighs of the 

61 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

actors in a later and more bitter war. Owned 
always by the makers of history, it is revered as 
the home of the same, and, as season follows 
season and years lengthen into centuries, the 
air and breath of old-time glory hang over the 
venerable acres, which rest to-day in the quiet 
dignity of two hundred years ago. 



BROOKE'S BANK 




OME one has said that 
an old mansion is in 
itself a history; that 
its stories are the vol- 
umes, and its many 
rooms the chapters, 
illustrated by antique 
furniture, while the in- 
mates form the characters, whether actors upon 
the stage of long ago or less picturesque figures 
of to-day. Just such a history is old Brooke's 
Bank, which discloses the identity of its first 
owners in its name. 

Though the name of Brooke is found a number 
of times among the incorporators of the Virginia 
Company in the charter of 1609, there is a film of 
uncertainty regarding the exact date upon which 
the first of the family emigrated to America. 
Members of it, however, were living in Virginia 
and Maryland in the middle of the seventeenth 
century. According to one authority, Robert 
Brooke, of Maryland, married Mary, daughter 
of Thomas Baker and granddaughter of Sir 
Thomas Engham, knight, of Goodlestone. His 

68 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

second wife was Mary Mainwaring, and a well- 
authenticated tradition claims it to have been 
their son Robert who came to Virginia, and was 
the ancestor of some of the most distinguished 
men in the State, among whom Governor Robert 
Brooke was a conspicuous figure. 

Robert Brooke, the first of the name in Vir- 
ginia, seems to have settled in Essex County, 
where he was justice in 1692, and married 
Catherine, the sister or daughter of Humphrey 
Booth, in 1689. The sons of this union were 
Robert, Jr., Humphrey, and William, the name 
of the first ranking more prominently than any 
in the family, he having been one of the Knights 
of the Golden Horseshoe, that picturesque order 
estabhshed by Governor Spotswood as the result 
of his famous tramontane expedition. 

All told, there were but fifty in this expedition 
of pioneers and gentlemen, the object of which 
was to discover a passage over the Blue Ridge 
Mountains. This being eiFected, the name of 
George I. was cut upon a rock on the highest 
mountain, which was called Mount George, in 
honor of His Majesty, that next it being named 
Mount Alexander, for the exploring Governor. 
Owing to the rough and rocky travel, the horses 
required many shoes, an article but little used 
then in eastern Virginia, and which, playing such 

64 



BROOKE'S BANK 



an important part in the enterprise, was taken as 
the emblem. Upon their return, each gentleman 
is said to have been presented by Governor Spots- 
wood with a tiny golden horseshoe, with jewels 
representing the nail-heads, and upon which was 
inscribed, '' Sic juvat transcendere monies/' In 
the hope of encouraging the exploration of the 
back country, membership to this order was 
accorded by the Governor to any one who could 
prove that he drank the health of His Majesty on 
the summit of Mount George. 

Robert Brooke, Knight of the Golden Horse- 
shoe, married Phoebe , and moved to 

Farmer's Hall, now the Sale estate, in Essex, 
which he left to his son Robert, but which late 
went to his daughter Mary, who married Hum- 
phrey (?) Sale, a descendant of English landed 
gentry prominent since the time of Edward I., 
and whose son, Humphrey Sale, is spoken of in 
the will of Sarah Brooke, dated 1767. From 
Mary Brooke and Humphrey Sale sprang all the 
Virginia Sales, one of the oldest and most repre- 
sentative families of Essex, Rockbridge, and 
Bedford Counties. 

On a tablet in the Court House at Tappahan- 
nock, Virginia, which was placed there by the 
descendants of the Horseshoe Knight in 1714, is 
engraved : 

5 65 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

" In memory of 

Robert Brooke, Gentleman, Justice 

OF YE OLD Court 1692-1706 

AND OF 

Robert Brooke, Jr., Deputy Clerk 

OF YE OLD Court 1700 

AND Horse Shoe Knight." 

Beneath this were the horseshoe and the motto. 

Wilham, brother of Robert, Jr., and second 
son of Robert and Catherine Brooke, inherited 
lands in Essex County. About 1720 he married 
Sarah Tahaferro, to whom a grant of many acres 
was made by George 11. in 1751, and it was by 
her that the present Brooke's Bank mansion was 
built, in 1751, in pursuance of directions in the 
will of her husband, who died in 1734. 

The red brick dwelling, with green outer blinds 
and white wood-work, is a square two-story 
structure with quaint entrance porticos on both 
fronts, these with their double balconies furnish- 
ing the only ornamentation of a rather severe 
exterior. In the interior, of true Colonial lines, 
there is a wide hall running from door to door, 
broken midway by a graceful arch. The front 
of the house is occupied by the large drawing and 
dining rooms, on opposite sides, the library being 
in the rear. All the rooms show handsome 
panelling and wainscoting. 

66 



BROOKE'S BANK 



The grounds form three terraces on the river 
front, and in olden days were approached over 
circular stone steps. The mansion is placed near 
enough to the river to have suffered cruelly when 
the Federal gunboats were lying in the Rappa- 
hannock, and marks of shells fired from the 
Pawnee are still visible. Two balls entered the 
second story, and the one which lodged near the 
window has only recently been removed. The 
violence of the sudden concussion forced open a 
secret panel in the wainscoting in one of the first- 
floor rooms, where old wills and other valuable 
papers had been concealed for years. As the 
house was unoccupied at that time, many of these 
papers were undoubtedly lost, and some, owing to 
their age, have since gone to pieces, thereby rob- 
bing the family of much interesting historic 
matter. 

When Sarah Taliaferro Brooke died, in 1764, 
the estate of 2200 acres went to her son William, 
who married Anne Benger, niece of Lady Spots- 
wood, and survived his mother only a few months. 
His sister, Sarah Brooke, then inherited the 
plantation, and it is her will that is referred to 
above, under the date of 1767. 

The next owner was John Brooke, who 
married Lucy Thornton in 1777, and left the 

67 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

estate to his son William Thornton Brooke in 
1788. The wife of the latter was Mary Whiting 
Baylor, and from them the homestead passed to 
their son, William Hill Brooke, the last owner 
of that name. In 1880 the old estate was sold 
to Dr. Walton Saunders, whose widow, now Mrs. 
St. George Hopkins, is the present possessor of 
the mansion and 400 acres, all that is left of the 
once great manor. 

From the upper story of Brooke's Bank a 
very beautiful view of the Rappahannock may 
be had, of many miles in extent, for the stream 
is here unusually broad, and, from the elevated 
position of the mansion, seems to stretch very far. 
The high-ceiled rooms guard many romantic 
war-time secrets, which, sadly enough, we are 
destined never to know; but the wreckage of 
stormy days is visible no longer, and in spring 
the old-time jonquil and narcissus, once trampled 
beneath the soldiers' feet, lift their winsome faces, 
glorifying all the lawn. Memories cluster 
thickly about the historic plantation, which so 
well deserves the peaceful harvest it is reaping 
to-day — memories which belong to one and all 
who, seeing the old mansion, listen to the pretty 
legends and pitiful tales with which it has 
abounded since the days of the Horseshoe 
Knight. 

68 



BLANDFIELD 




OT far from the shores 
of the Rappahannock 
River is the quiet, an- 
cient mansion of Bland- 
field, upon the face of 
which sorrow has 
struck many blows and 
and left some unheal- 
ing wounds. Scorches from the scars of war are 
plainly visible, and there hangs about its walls 
a gravity born of much suffering, blended with 
the comfort of having sheltered many gener- 
ations of one line, though these generations have 
known to the full tears as well as smiles. Not 
once has the long-linked chain of births and 
deaths been broken, to be scattered far and near. 
From the quaint old windows out of which their 
forefathers gazed grandchildren now look. All 
the rooms are enveloped in historic associations, 
and from every corner is felt the peaceful in- 
fluence of memories cherished through past ages 
and revered sacredly to-day. 

The creator of this once sumptuous plantation 

69 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

was William Beverley, grandson of the first of 
the name in Virginia. The prominence of this 
aristocratic family appears to have been noted in 
the time of King John, according to records 
found in the town of Beverley, England, where 
Thomas de Beverley was superintendent of the 
fortifications in the fifteenth century. 

Robert Beverley, the Immigrant, came to Vir- 
ginia about 1663 and took up lands in Middlesex 
County. In 1670 he was made Clerk of the 
House of Burgesses, which office he seems to have 
held throughout his life. History proves him 
to have been one of the most influential men in 
the Colony, though he was not always in sym- 
pathy with the popular cause. Being one of 
Governor Berkeley's staunchest supporters, he 
lent his strength towards the suppression of 
Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, winning thereby the 
disapproval of the Colonists in general, who 
censured him in no light terms. The commission 
issued by Berkeley appointing Major Beverley 
commander of his troops November 13, 1676, 
states: " Whereas, by many frequent and suc- 
cessful services to his Sacred Majesty, this Coun- 
trey, and me, his Majesties Governor of it, Major 
Robert Beverley hath approved himself to be 
most loyall, circumspect, and curagious in his 

70 



BLANDFIELD 



Majesties service for the good of his countrey, 
and the suppressing this late horrid Rebellion, 
begun by Bacon, and continued since his death 
by Ingram, Lawrence, Hansford, and others, the 
last of which he, the said Robert Beverley, with 
courage and admirable conduct, never to be for- 
gotten, this day brought to me." 

Though the true attitude of Beverley toward 
the Crown will be seen by the foregoing, in some 
way he seems to have incurred the displeasure of 
Francis Moryson, one of the commissioners sent 
from England to overthrow the Rebellion, 
who, after his return to Great Britain, wrote: 
*' Beverley and Lu dwell still continue the same 
mutineers, as we left them, and will never be 
other, but will undoubtedly cause new disturb- 
ances in the country as soon as the soldiers are 
gone." 

Of the first wife of Robert Beverley little is 
known beyond her Christian name, Mary, but 
his second, Catherine, whom he married March 
28, 1679, was the daughter or widow of Major 
Theophilus Hone, of James City County. On 
his death, in 1687, his estate is said to have been 
valued at about £31,000, his lands numbering 
50,000 acres, which were divided among his eight 
children, Robert, the second of the name and son 

71 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

of Mary Beverley, being by far the most dis- 
tinguished. 

Born about 1G75, Robert Beverley spent his 
life on his beautiful estate in King and Queen 
County. He was a member of the House of 
Burgesses for a number of years, and was one of 
Spotswood's Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. 
In 1705 he wrote the " History of the Present 
State of Virginia," in which is found the phrase, 
" the almighty power of gold," which may be 
reckoned with Washington Irving's " almighty 
dollar." 

Considering the fondness that the early Vir- 
ginia planters showed for horses, the following 
from this same history is an interesting glimpse 
of the part horses played in 1700: " There is yet 
another kind of sport which the young people 
take great delight in, and that is the hunting of 
wild horses; which they pursue sometimes with 
dogs, and sometimes without. You must know 
they have many horses foaled in the woods of the 
uplands, that never were in hand, and are as shy 
as any savage creature. These, having no mark 
upon them, belong to him the first that takes 
them. However, the captor commonly pur- 
chases these horses very dear, by spoiling better 
in the pursuit ; in which case he has little to make 

72 



BLANDFIELD 



himself amends, besides tlie pleasure of the chase. 
And very often this is all he has for it; for the 
wild horses are so swift that 'tis difficult to catch 
them, and when they are taken 'tis odds, but their 
grease is melted, or else, being old, they are so 
sullen that they can't be tamed." 

Robert Beverley 2nd married Ursula, daughter 
of Colonel William Byrd of Westover, who died 
in 1698, when but sixteen years of age, if the 
epitaph on the old tombstone at Jamestown spoke 
truly. Their only son, William Beverley, was 
born about 1698, and added to the large in- 
heritance of his father by patents of many thou- 
sand acres. Having married Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of Richard and Elizabeth Randolph Bland 
of Prince George County, he gave his country- 
seat in Essex the name of Blandfield, in honor of 
his bride, the estate of 4000 acres having been 
bought in 1730 from James Booth, John Davis, 
and other patentees. 

The manor-house, which he erected about 1760, 
has suffered but little change, and though it was 
slightly remodelled in 1852, the staunch brick 
walls and exterior design are as they were orig- 
inally. 

The great central building is joined to the un- 
pretentious wings by means of unusually long 

73 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

corridors, and the porticos are on substantial 
lines, in keeping with the simple severity of the 
exterior, of which the chief ornamentation is the 
dentilled cornice. An air of past ages pervades 
Blandfield, which becomes more poignant once 
the mansion is entered. Here the sad ruin of 
former grandeur greets both the untrained and 
the sympathetic eye, for the house was the scene 
of unwarranted vandaHsm during the Civil War. 
When the Federal gunboats were in the Rappa- 
hannock, the troops sent ashore from them struck 
madly right and left, and, landing at Blandfield, 
left the beautiful mansion and estate a glaring 
wreck of its former self. The hand-made panel- 
ling and wainscoting were wickedly torn from 
the walls, to be burnt or carried away. Family 
portraits from the brushes of masters were 
irreverently cut from their hanging places and 
thrown in among the furniture, of which it is 
said fifteen wagon-loads were taken off to 
beautify the houses of many who had desecrated 
another's home. In the catalogue of the Bland- 
field portrait-gallery, opposite to not one number 
only is the sad entry, " Taken by the enemy in 
1864;" the names of old grandees and famous 
beauties may still be recorded, but always there 
follows the pathetic note, for the gallery was 

74 



BLANDFIELD 



robbed in its entirety and the irreplaceable con- 
tents scattered far and wide. 

One of these portraits hangs now in the Con- 
gressional Library. 

From the central hall, which measures seventy 
by thirty feet, two narrower hallways branch, and 
from these the stairways ascend to the upper 
floor. All told, there are twenty-four rooms in 
the mansion, and though most of the old furni- 
ture was included in the fifteen wagon-loads that 
lost their identity on the Federal gunboats, there 
are still choice bits scattered about, to remind one 
of the former splendor of the great rooms, with 
their store of priceless mahogany and walnut. 

Fortunately, the library begun by Robert 
Beverley, the Immigrant, remains in part, and 
though the years have not increased its size to 
any extent, the fi^ve hundred volumes, which were 
gathered with care, render it, so we are told, one 
of the finest private collections in the South. 

The grounds surrounding the venerable man- 
sion contain five acres, but the old trees are 
giving place to those of later growth. Stately 
S3''camores rear their heads in loving guardian- 
ship over the house walls, while firs and cedars 
lend their fresh greenery throughout the year. 
The fair old garden has never revived from the 

75 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

storms of '64, but roses still bloom in abundance, 
and snowball trees canopy boxwood borders, 
while the wild flowers of nature link spring to 
summer. Gold-centred narcissuses and delicate 
snowdrops linger long in the fresh, green grass, 
and yellow jonquils mingle their faint scent with 
lilies of the valley. But when these early blooms 
have lost their color, the lawn is sheeted with 
brilliant buttercups to the very edges of the 
meadow lands. 

Though the first of the Beverleys are not 
buried there, the old graveyard, that knew its sad 
beginning in the eighteenth century, guards 
many generations of Blandfield's dead within its 
vine-clad walls. 

Not content with his other public offices, Wil- 
liam Beverley wrote to England in March, 1742, 
applying for the Secretaryship of the Colony, 
and telling his correspondent that though the 
present Secretary, John Carter, was still living, 
he was ill and would probably die before the letter 
arrived at its destination. Evidently believing 
that time should be taken by the forelock, he 
directed that the office be bought for him, agree- 
ing to pay £200 and more to secure the commis- 
sion for which Secretary Carter had paid 1500 
guineas. But Secretary Carter lived a bit longer 

76 



BLANDFIELD 



than was anticipated, and the well-laid plans of 
Colonel Beverley seem to have come to naught. 

When William Beverley died, in or about 
1766, Blandfield reverted to his eldest son Robert, 
the third of the name, who married Maria, 
daughter of Colonel Landon Carter of Sabine 
Hall. The next owner of the estate was Robert, 
son of the latter, who married Jane, daughter of 
Colonel John Tayloe of Mount Airy. James 
Bradshaw Beverley, who married Jane Peter of 
Georgetown, then inherited the old homestead, 
which passed to Robert, who married Jane Carter 
of Prince William County, and from them the 
plantation came into the possession of Robert 
Beverley, the sixth of the name, who married 
Richardetta Carter of Fauquier County. Thus 
it is that the present owner is the great-great- 
great-great-grandson of Robert Beverley, the 
Immigrant. 

Some one has wTitten : " The great proprie- 
tors of Virginia resemble the Polish Palatines. 
They have the same proud spirit of independence, 
and 3'et exact the greatest subordination from the 
people on their estates, and exercise the greatest 
hospitality." All this may be said of the owners 
of Blandfield, and though there is evidence of 
war-swept years about the rare old place, the 

77 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

superenlightened twentieth century visitor who 
chances upon the restful spot will appreciate as 
keenly the words of the writer quoted as he who 
lived when a Beverley was the prime favorite of 
the King's executive. 

A romantic film envelops every fresh flower 
blooming where the old garden was; a benignly 
tempered influence " seems to pass through the 
open doors to and fro like a tranquil blessing; it 
is beyond joy and pain, because time has distilled 
it from both of these ; it is the assembled essence 
of kinship and blood unity, enriched by each suc- 
ceeding brood that is born, is married, is fruitful 
in its turn, and dies remembered." 



STRATFORD HALL 




0-DAY the tourist who 
travels up and down 
the picturesque Po- 
tomac may wonder 
and ask what is the 
great building resting 
stolidly upon the river's 
brow. He is told that 
it is Stratford Hall, the gift of a queen, scene of 
history and homestead of the renowned Lee 
family of Virginia. 

The Lees of Coton, from whom the Virginia 
branch is descended, date back to 1150, and 
played an important part in the history of Eng- 
land. In 1395 Sir Thomas Lee is spoken of. 
Humphrey Lee was made a baronet in 1620, and 
Sir Richard Lee was prominent in 1639. 

In the reign of Charles I. a Richard Lee came 
from Shropshire and settled in York County, 
where, August 10, 1642, he patented 1000 acres 
of land. In 1663 Sir William Berkeley granted 
him 4000 acres in Westmoreland County, which 
was the beginning of the Stratford Hall estate. 

79 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Colonel Richard Lee was said to have been 
the first white man in the Northern Neck, where 
he bought land from the Indians, gaining their 
friendship through numerous small presents. 
The surname of his wife Anna is enveloped in 
obscurity, though there is a current belief that it 
was Hancock, and he is known to have been 
married in 1642. One glance at the superb por- 
trait credited to Sir Peter Lely leaves the vivid 
impression of a remarkably handsome man, 
whose patrician features readily prove that he 
came of a gentle, knightly family of high posi- 
tion long before the ancestors of half the English 
peerage emerged from complete obscurity. 

Colonel Richard Lee, Secretary of the Colony 
of Virginia, a member of the King's Council and 
of the House of Burgesses, died about 1664, leav- 
ing eight children, the eldest of whom, John, born 
about 1645, inherited the Westmoreland prop- 
erty; but as he died without heirs, this estate, 
which seems to have been about 16,000 acres, 
passed to his brother Richard. Richard Lee, the 
second of the name in Virginia, was born in 1647, 
and, like John, was educated at Oxford. Though 
it is impossible to obtain a complete record of his 
offices, he is known to have held many important 
positions. About the year 1674 he married 

80 



STRATFORD HALL 



Lfetitia, daughter of Henry and Alice Eltonhead 
Corbin. The epitaph on his tomb states that 
" He quietly resigned his soul to God, whom he 
always devoutly worshipped, on the 12th day of 
March, in the year 1714, in the 68th year of his 
age." 

By far the most noted of the sons of Richard 
Lee was Thomas, born in 1690, of whom his own 
son writes: "Thomas, the fourth son, though 
with none but a common Virginia Education, yet 
having strong natural parts, long after he was a 
man he learned the Languages without any as- 
sistance but his own genius, and became a toler- 
able adept in Greek and Latin. This Thomas, 
by his Industry and Parts, acquired a consider- 
able fortune; for being a younger brother, with 
many children, his Paternal Estate was very 
small. He was also appointed of the Council, 
and though he had very few acquaintances in 
England, he was so well known by reputation 
that upon his receiving a loss by fire, the late 
Queen Caroline sent him over a bountiful present 
out of her own Privy Purse. Upon the late Sir 
AVilliam Gooch's being recalled, who had been 
Governor of Virginia, he became President and 
Commander in Chief over the Colon)'-, in which 
station he continued for some time, 'til the King 

6 81 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

thought proper to appoint him Governor of the 
Colony; but he dyed in 1750, before his commis- 
sion got over to him." 

On February 4, 1729, the Marjdand Gazette 
pubhshed the following account of the fire al- 
luded to above: "Last Wednesday night Col. 
Thomas Lee's fine House in Virginia was burnt, . 
his ofKce house and out-houses, his plate, cash (to 
the sum of £10,000), papers, and everything 
entirely lost. His lady and child were forced to 
be thrown out of a window, and he himself hardly 
escaped the flames, being much scorched. A 
white girl about twelve years old (a servant) per- 
ished in the fire. It is said Col. Lee's loss is not 
less than £50,000." 

It is not probable that this fire occurred at 
Stratford, but the " bountiful present " referred 
to by Colonel Lee's son was the money w ith which 
the present manor-house is said to have been 
built, about 1725 or 1730. This mansion, which 
contains at least twenty rooms, presents archi- 
tecturally the shape of an H, a twenty-five by 
thirty foot hall connecting the wings, each thirty 
by sixty feet. The lower portion of the unusual 
edifice is built of heavier brick than the upper, 
the walls being of great thickness, while the most 

pronounced exterior features are the quaint chim- 
es 



STRATFORD HALL 



neys, of two groups of four each, placed at either 
end of the roof. 

The double-fronted hallway is approached by 
a series of inconspicuous steps on both fronts. 
Its vaulted ceiling is particularly high, and into 
the oak-panelled walls are set book-shelves, prov- 
ing its use always to have been as a library or 
living-room. On the sides, between the book- 
shelves, are doors leading into the wing rooms, 
in the right of which Richard Henry Lee, 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, and Robert E. Lee are 
said to have been born. 

Placed equally distant from the four corners 
of the mansion are small buildings that served as 
ofRce, store-rooms, and kitchen, the latter having 
an enormous fireplace measuring in length twelve 
feet, in height six, and in depth five; all old 
chroniclers tell us that it was " capable of roast- 
ing a fair-sized ox." 

The parts of the original stable still standing 
show it to have been very large, and the garden 
enclosed in a crumbling brick wall still offers its 
quota of fruits and flowers. 

In 1790 a grandson of Governor Lee visited 
the homestead, sending this delightful descrip- 
tion of the place to his father: " Stratford, the 
seat of my forefathers, is a place of which too 

83 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

much cannot be said, whether you consider the 
venerable magnificence of its buildings, the 
happy disposition of its grounds, or the extent 
and variety of its prospect. Stratford, whose 
delightful shades formed the comfort and retire- 
ment of my wise and philosophical grandfather, 
with what a mixture of awe and pious gratifica- 
tion did I explore and admire your beauties!! 
What a delightful occupation did it afford me, 
sitting on one of the sofas of the great hall, to 
trace the family resemblance in the portraits of 
all my dear Mother's forefathers, her father and 
mother, her grandfather and grandmother, and 
so on upwards of four generations. Their pic- 
tures, drawn by the most eminent artists of Eng- 
land, and in large gilt frames, adorn one of the 
most spacious and beautiful halls I have ever 
seen. There is something truly noble in my 
grandfather's picture. He is dressed in a large 
wig flowing over his shoulders (probably his offi- 
cial wig as President of the Council), and in a 
loose gown of crimson sattin, richly ornamented. 
I mention the dress, as it may serve to convey to 
you some idea of the stile of the picture. But 
it is his physiognomy that strikes you with emo- 
tion : a blend of goodness and greatness, a sweet 
3^et penetrating eye, a finely marked set of 

84, 



STRATFORD HALL 



features, and a heavenly countenance. Such I 
have aknost never seen. Do not think me ex- 
travagant; my feeHngs were certainly so when 
I dwelt with rapture on the portraits of Strat- 
ford, and felt so strong an inclination to kneel to 
that of my grandfather. It was with difficulty 
that my Uncles, who accompanied me, could 
persuade me to leave the hall to look at the 
gardens, vineyards, orangeries, and lawns which 
surround the house." 

On the 17th of INIay, 1722, Thomas Lee was 
married to Hannah Ludwell, of James City 
County, daughter of Colonel Philip Ludwell. 
The marriage bond in Governor Lee's own writ- 
ing still exists, a curious document reading: 
" Know all men by these presents that Thomas 
Lee^ of Westmoreland County in Virginia, 
Gentleman, and Francis Lightfoot of Charles 
City County, Gentleman, doe owe and stand 
indebted to Phihp Ludwell of Greenspring in 
James City County in Virginia, Esq., in the sum 
of twelve hundred pounds of Lawfull money of 
England, to the payment whereof well and truly 
to be made to the said Philip, and his Execut's, 
Administrators, or certain Attorney at Green- 
spring, upon demand, we bind Ourselves and 
eithei of us, our and either of our heirs, Execut's, 

85 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

and Administrators, by these presents sealed with 
our Seals and dated this twenty third day of 
May, Anno Domini one thousand Seven hundred 
and Twenty two. 

" The condition of this obligation is such that 
whereas a marriage is intended to be had and 
Solemnized betwixt the Above bound Thomas 
Lee and Hannah, the daughter of the above said 
Philip, with whome the said Thomas is to have 
and receive in marriage six hundred pounds 
sterling money of England, which was given to 
her by Philip Ludwell and Benjamin Harrison, 
Esqrs., her grandfathers: now if the said mar- 
riage shall be had and Solemnized, and the said 
six hundred pounds sterling shall be paid to the 
said Thomas, and he shall depart this life leaving 
the said Hannah Surviving; then in that case, if 
the heirs, Execut's, or Administrators of the said 
Thomas or one of them shall pay and deliver to 
the said Hannah upon demand the Sum of 600 
lbs. of good and Lawfull money of England, or 
Such part of the Estate of the said Thomas as 
the law appoints for widows' dowers, which she 
the said Hannah shall Choose, which Choice shall 
])e made within one Month after such decease if 
thereunto required and not sooner, then this obli- 
gation to be void, otherwise to remain in full 
force." 

86 



STRATFORD HALL 



Perhaps no marriage in American history ever 
resulted in so many distinguished sons. The heir 
at law being Philip Ludwell Lee, he succeeded 
his father in the homestead, having been born 
February 24, 1726. His wife was Elizabeth 
Steptoe, of Westmoreland, who, on his death, in 
1775, married Philip Richard Fendall, and con- 
tiimed to live at Stratford, which went to her 
daughter, Matilda Lee. This eldest daughter 
of Colonel Philip Ludwell Lee, known as the 
" divine INIatilda," was the first wife of General 
Henry Lee, her cousin, the " Light Horse 
Harry " of the Revolution and the son of Henry 
and Lucy Grymes Lee. It was during his Con- 
gressional career that General Lee made the 
famous eulogy of Washington, coining the im- 
mortal phrase, " First in war, first in peace, first 
in the hearts of his countrymen." General Lee 
was also Governor of Virginia, and after the 
death of his first wife married Anne, daughter of 
Charles Carter of Shirley, who was the mother 
of Robert E. Lee. 

Stratford was inherited by Major Henry Lee, 
born in 1798, the son of Matilda and JNIajor- 
General Henry Lee. In 1817 he married Anne, 
daughter of Daniel McCarty of VVestmoreland, 
and when he died in 1837 was succeeded in the 

87 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

estate by his son, Charles Carter Lee, who, born 
about 1808, was the last of the famous family to 
own the old homestead, noted as the birthplace of 
histor}^ and the headquarters of the nobility and 
genius of the Virginia Commonwealth. 

From Charles Carter Lee Stratford Hall went 
to JNIrs. Starke, who, born a Miss McCarty, was 
the sister-in-law of Major Henry Lee, and who 
lived there for some years after the Civil War. 
On her death she left the manor-house and 1000 
acres to her nej)hew, Dr. Richard Stewart, who is 
the present owner. It should be gratifying to 
the country at large to know that an option on 
the historic estate has lately been secured by the 
Lee Memorial Birthplace Committee appointed 
by the Virginia State Camp, Patriotic Sons of 
America. The purpose of this committee is that 
once the property becomes theirs, it mil be pre- 
sented to Virginia in trust for the people of 
America. 

Stratford Hall is truly a history in itself, and 
a beautiful illustration of the customs and life of 
its period. Since its erection the glorious history 
of America has been made, and a number of those 
prominent in the making were born under its very 
roof. A new nation has been given to the world, 
a nation second to none. The hero-creating 

88 



STRATFORD HALL 



Revolution, with a later and deadlier war, has 
come and gone, and all this has the old homestead 
lived through. 

To-day there may be an apparent want of 
things about the beautiful estate, once the most 
important stopping-place along the King's 
Highway, but now well-nigh inaccessible owing 
to inadequate transportation facilities. Strat- 
ford might irreverently be called by some far 
behind the times, yet even the uninitiated will 
admit its soothing atmosphere and the stealing 
over his senses of an exquisite, rare content born 
of the restful feeling that belongs to the peaceful 
country scene. 

The old cemetery, once under a brick house, 
consisted originally of a deep vault with separate 
alcoves for different branches of the famil^^ 
Some years ago, the brick walls being in a 
crumbling state, the o^\Tier of Stratford had them 
pulled down, making in their stead a large 
mound, upon the top of which he placed the 
tombstone of Governor Lee, inscribed, " In 
memory of the Hon. Thomas Lee, whose body 
was buried at Pope's Creek Church, five miles 
above his country-seat, Stratford Hall, in 1756." 

That this manor-house has long outlived its 
generation is shown by the words of Bishop 

S9 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Meade, who says truly that " Some mournful 
thoughts will force themselves upon us when con- 
sidering the ruins of churches, of mansions, and 
of cemeteries in Westmoreland. By reason of 
the worth, talents, and patriotism which once 
adorned it, it was called the Athens of Virginia. 
But how few of the descendants of those who 
once were its ornaments are now to be found in 
it! Chantilly, Mount Pleasant, Wakefield, are 
now no more. Stratford alone remains." 

It is very easy in the midst of these surround- 
ings, as romantic as they are historic, for the 
imagination to run rampant ; for here one finds a 
delightful spot that has fortunately escaped nine- 
teenth and twentieth century reconstruction, its 
possessors having wisely believed that the man- 
sion and estate which harbored so many of the 
nation's greatest men need not the touch of those 
who have come after, to lend them usefulness, 
dignity, or charm. 

What a story of revelry, of sacrifice, of 
tragedy, and of joy could the old Hall tell! But, 
brooding sadly over its wonderful past, the man- 
sion is sombre now. Civilization has left to itself 
the spot which once civilized such a great part of 
the country, but there are tangled rose-vines still 
clinging about it, and the ivy's embrace keeps off 

90 



STRATFORD HALL 



the chill, while the wide-spreading branches of 
venerable trees yet lend their shadoA^ s as they lov- 
ingly did of yore. The grass-grown walks look 
old and lonely, and there are aged and cobwebby 
boxwood hedges; all of which may be unused, 
but can never be forgotten, for Stratford Hall 
has sheltered in the past too many of the noblest 
Virginians ever known. 



GUNSTON HALL 




pFTER the last battle 
of that bloody English 
conflict was lost by 
Charles II. in 1651, 
many of the royal ad- 
herents fled, taking ref- 
uge in the new Colony 
beyond the Atlantic. 
Among the old Virginia families who trace 
their beginning in America to this Cavaher immi- 
gration are the JMasons, who claim descent from 
George Mason, a member of the Long Parlia- 
ment, dissolved by Cromwell after the death of 
Charles I. Family tradition holds that Colonel 
Mason was born in Staffordshire, though belong- 
ing to the family in Stratford-upon-Avon, War- 
wickshire. 

In the vault of the Masons in the old church in 
Stratford-upon-Avon are many monuments and 
tablets, the earliest bearing the name and date of 
Daniel Mason, 1689. 

In 1625 a William Mason was a member of 



GUNSTON HALL 



Parliament, while in 1628 a Robert Mason repre- 
sented Winchester in the same assemblage. 

Still earlier, in 1607, a Captain INIason is found 
in the list of those composing the London Com- 
pany, and in 1620 the name of George Mason 
appears, he being undoubtedly the " Captain 
Mason " referred to earlier. The Christian name 
George, which has descended from father to son 
down to the present time in Virginia, seems to 
point convincingly to the supposition that the 
Cavaher Immigrant was the son of the jNIason of 
the London Companj''. 

In the year 1655 George Mason patented 900 
acres of land in what was then Westmoreland 
County, the land having been given him for 
bringing eighteen persons into the Colony — 
" head rights," as they were called. Whether his 
marriage was celebrated in America or England 
is very uncertain, nor is the surname of his wife, 
whom he spoke of as " Mary," known. 

In 1674 George Mason was made County 
Lieutenant, the highest office in Stafford, which 
county, carved from Westmoreland, was sup- 
posedly named by Mason for his native shire. 
This office, known in the early records as that of 
" Commander of Plantations," was in England 
held only by knights. When he died, in 1686, his 

93 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

estates as well as his offices were inherited by his 
son of the same name, who married first Mary 
Fowke, of an old family in Staffordshire which 
is still represented among the landed gentry of 
England. His second wife was Elizabeth 
Waugh, the third being Sarah Brent (?). The 
lands, which he had greatly increased by pur- 
chase, went to his children when he died in 1716; 
among whom George, the third of the name in 
Virginia, was the most prominent. 

George Mason 3rd, grandson of the Immi- 
grant, was born in 1690, and married Anne 
Thomson, daughter of Stevens Thomson, Attor- 
ney-General of the Old Dominion in the reign of 
Queen Anne. He was prominent in public life, 
and was one of Spotswood's *' Knights of the 
Golden Horseshoe," though perhaps his most 
important role was played as the father of the 
eminent statesman, George JVIason of Gunston 
Hall. 

Born in 1725, the latter, on attaining his ma- 
jority, left his mother's plantation and went to 
live on his hereditary estate in Dogue Neck. In 
1750 he married Anne Eilbeck, a celebrated 
beauty and the daughter of Colonel William Eil- 
beck of Maryland, whose wife was a Miss Edgar. 
One tradition names Anne Eilbeck as the " low- 

94 




CKORGK MASON 
From tlie portrait by Hesselius 




GUNSTON HALL 



land beauty " of Washington's early romance. 
At the time of his marriage George Mason was 
described as " young, wealthy, handsome, and 
talented; he must have been at this time a dis- 
tinguished figure among the jeunesse doree of 
the Northern Neck." 

The first entry in the family Bible is made in 
Mason's own writing, and reads: " George 
Mason, of Stafford County, Virginia, aged about 
twenty-five years, and Anne Eilbeck, the daugh- 
ter of William Eilbeck, of Charles County, 
Maryland, merchant, aged about sixteen years, 
were married on Wednesday, the fourth day of 
April, in the year 1750, by the Rev. Mr. John 
Moncure, Rector of Overwharton parish, Staf- 
ford County, Virginia." 

It was about this date that the famous por- 
traits of ^Ir. and Mrs. ^lason were painted by 
Hesselius. In the former the regular features 
are dominated by the deep, expressive brown 
eyes. He wears the short wig of the period, and 
his dress, though far from that of a fop, is elegant 
in the extreme. The portrait of his girl-wife 
shows a youthful beauty of the most exquisite 
and extraordinary type. The eyes are black, in 
wonderful contrast to the shell-pink complexion, 
above which gleam masses of auburn hair. 

95 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Soon after this marriage, which proved to be 
the happiest of unions, Gunston Hall was begun, 
the original structure now being one of the few 
Colonial dwellings standing intact upon the 
shores of the broad Potomac. 

The brick mansion, with cut stone quoins, 
gambrel roof, and four great chimneys, is built 
on no particular lines. Colonel Mason having 
been his own architect, as is evidenced by the curi- 
ously interesting pentagonal porch that adorns 
the river front. Carved red and white columns 
connected by lattice-work uphold the pretty 
portico, which in June is smothered under rose- 
vines that climb and twine about it in an affec- 
tionate effort to hide the scars of time. 

The main entrance from the land side, over 
mossy and uneven stone steps, leads up to a large 
porch, from which the wide hall, typical of the 
finest Southern mansions of the day, is entered. 
The stairway, ascending from one side of the 
rear, is relieved on the first landing by superbly 
carved panels which reach from floor to cornice 
on either side, forming two graceful arches which 
meet in the centre of the ceiling, where a carved 
wooden pineapple depends. 

Even the untrained eye wonders at the door- 
ways, which, in proportion to the extravagant 
height of the walls, seem inadequately low. 

96 



GUNSTON HALL 



The handsomest apartment in the mansion is 
the historic white drawing-room at the south 
front of the house, the scene of many briUiant and 
ceremonious affairs of the first owner's day. The 
two doors that lead into this room, in common 
witli the two large windows and chimney recesses, 
are encased in Corinthian pilasters, the panelled 
doors also being finished with carving in the 
flower and scroll design. Throughout the in- 
terior the wood-work is ornate and beautiful, 
George Mason having imported from England 
workmen who spent, so the story goes, three years 
in accomplishing their task. Some years ago a 
Northern architect who visited Gunston Hall in 
quest of new ideas from old examples offered 
$3000 for the wood-work of the drawing-room 
alone. 

The stately dining-room and library are more 
plainly, though still handsomely, wainscoted and 
corniced. Loitering in one of these hospitable 
corners, it is not difficult to picture the distin- 
guished guests of an age long dead, whose 
wraiths must present an imposing array when 
they return, as the old legends say they do, in 
memory of their golden days. 

Jefferson's room is still pointed out; Lafay- 
ette's room, too, has place in the annals of Gun- 

7 9J 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

ston Hall, in connection with those of other 
eminent men who helped to make the wonderful 
history of Virginia. A dreamy trance lays hold 
of the stranger guest who crosses for the first 
time the threshold of this hall of fame. 

The walk which leads from the mansion to the 
terraced gardens, or " Falls," as Mason loved to 
call them, is hedged on either side by trees of rare 
flowering boxwood. Here from a commanding 
knoll one looks down upon two miles of the his- 
toric Potomac, on the blue waters of which 
vessels with their snowy sails pass up and down 
in ceaseless procession. Rolling back toward 
the horizon are the smiling meadow lands, in 
pleasing contrast to the forests, of miles in 
extent. 

The old " King's Highway," with its gilded 
chariots and gold-laced cavaliers, has long been 
unused, but the unchanging, immortal watery 
highway still caresses the shores of the old planta- 
tion as it did for the noble statesman of an age 
forever irrecoverable. 

At the beginning of the Revolution, in the 
summer of 1776, Dunmore's fleet came up the 
Potomac, meaning, it was believed, to ravage 
Gunston Hall, but the following letter from 
Mason to Washington, written a little later, 

98 



GUNSTON HALL 



shows that if any attempt was made it proved 
unsuccessful : 

" Dunmore has come and gone, and left us 
untouched except by some alarm. I sent my 
family many miles back in the country, and 
advised Mrs. Washington to do likewise as a 
prudential movement. At first she said, * No, 
I will not desert my post ; ' but she finally did so 
with reluctance, rode only a few miles, and, 
plucky little woman as she is, stayed away only 
one night." 

George ^lason, the stern patriot, who died at 
his beautiful country-seat, was buried in the old 
graveyard in October, 1792, and now sleeps 
quietly in a spot blue with loyal periwinkle or 
green imder a mantle of clinging Enghsh ivy. 
For years there was not even the simplest slab to 
mark his resting-place, but in 1869, through the 
Sons of the Revolution, a granite shaft was 
erected to his memory. 

Let one of his descendants sum up the 
character of this remarkable man: "In mak- 
ing an estimate of George Mason's character 
and abilities, we can but retouch the picture 
as portrayed by the more intelligent and sym- 
pathetic of his contemporaries. One of a famous 
group of historic figures, the friend and associate 

99 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

of Washington, Richard Henry I^ee, Jefferson, 
Madison, Patrick Henry, they have all helped us, 
directly or indirectly, to see him as he lived and 
walked among them. Though we obtain no 
sketch of George Mason from the hps of Wash- 
ington and Lee, we are not left in doubt as to 
their high regard for him. Washington's free 
and intimate correspondence, carried on for the 
greater part of a lifetime, attests his estimation 
of the sterling traits of character and the eminent 
talents of his friend. And this impression is 
scarcely impaired at the last by the few slighting 
words Washington suffered himself to write of 
Mason when his early ally and familiar com- 
panion had become his determined political oppo- 
nent. Richard Henry Lee seems to have had 
George Mason's entire confidence all through his 
career, and we cannot fail to perceive how 
thorough was Lee's appreciation of Mason, with 
whom he was in complete sympathy, apparently, 
on all the great issues of the eventful years in 
which they labored together, first for inde- 
pendence of Great Britain, and secondly for the 
independence of the state against Federal aggres- 
sion. Jefferson, from first to last, looked upon 
George Mason as one of the wisest of Vir- 
ginians, or indeed of his contemporaries on the 

100 



GUNSTON HALL 



theatre of the American Revolution. These two 
statesmen, George Mason and Thomas Jeffer- 
son, bore the relation, more fully perhaps than 
Jefferson himself perceived, of master and dis- 
ciple in the school of states' rights, 'though 
Jefferson, like Madison, did not at fu*st see with 
the elder sage's clear vision." 

James Madison, when asked by a grandson of 
Mason for some personal recollections, wrote: 
" The biographical tribute you meditate is justly 
due to the merits of your ancestor. Colonel 
George Mason. It is to be regretted that, highly 
distinguished as he was, the memorials of him on 
record, or perhaps otherwise attainable, are more 
scanty than of many of his contemporaries 
far inferior to him in intellectual powers and 
public services. It would afford me a pleasure 
to be a tributary to your undertaking. But 
although I had the advantage of being on the list 
of his personal friends, and, in several instances, 
of being associated with him in public life, I can 
add little for the pages of your work." 

In the Virginia State Libraiy, preciously 
guarded by a glass case, is what is believed to be 
the only original draft of the Virginia Bill of 
Rights, which instrument has placed Mason's 
name among those of the immortals who made 
American history what it is. 

101 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Mason's loj^alty to his country is amply proven 
in the simple changing of one word in the motto 
which came to him " Pro patria semper/' but was 
left to his son, George Mason 5th, who inherited 
Gunston Hall, as '' Pro repuhlica semper." 

The war-cloud of '61 hung low over this " Pen- 
insula principality," then in the possession of the 
grandson of the founder. To the lawless soldier 
the venerable manor-house, enveloped in its film 
of historic association, was no more than the 
lowliest cabin. The beautiful gardens were 
sadly trampled, rare old trees were felled by the 
axe, and in some of the rooms of the mansion the 
panelling and wainscoting were torn from the 
walls, and the historic structure was robbed of all 
but its glorious memories. 

A few years later, that part of the estate still 
suffering cruelly from the effects of the war was 
sold to General Robert Gibson Smith, of New 
Jersey, and immediately the work of restoration 
was begun. This was fully accomplished by Mr. 
Joseph Specht, of St. Louis, who bought the 
place from General Smith. Lately Gunston 
Hall has once more changed hands, being now 
owned by Mr. Paul Kester. 

So again the sun shines brightly over the proud 
plantation. The overgrown hedges and way- 

103 



GUNSTON HALL 



ward rose-viiies have felt the needed touch of 
care. The grass that was trampled by soldiers, or 
scorched by heavy shells, once more carpets the 
picturesque grounds, and from the terraced 
gardens a wealth of fragrant blossoms breathe 
promises of peace and calm repose. 

And when the midnight hour comes over the 
ancient Hall, a shadowy throng of noble spectres 
hold misty carnival in memory of a noble name. 



WOODLAWN 




pJNIONG the rare Vir- 
ginia homesteads 
famed in the early 
days for a bountiful 
hospitality, for distin- 
guished guests and 
magnificent surround- 
ings, none took pre- 
cedence of Woodlawn, which, on the high bank 
of the Potomac River, stands to-day as staunch 
and firm as it did for the winsome bride of years 
ago. 

Excepting only JMount Vernon, perhaps no 
other of Virginia's historic estates appeals so 
strongly to Americans and foreigners alike, for 
this manor was a part of the Mount Vernon 
tract; its mistress was reared and educated under 
the affection and care of the fii'st President of the 
country ; its master was his nephew, who had won 
laurels as a soldier, and the mansion was erected 
through the munificence of the nation's greatest 
idol. 

The beginning of Woodlawn as an estate was 

104 



o ? O 

2 I r 

r- r ^ 

5" c" ~ 

X S ^ 

III 

c o ^ 

?: g: > 







WOODLAWN 



in 1799, the 2000 acres being Washington's 
wedding-gift to his beautiful ward, Nellie Custis 
the granddaughter of Mrs. Washington, who o 
February twenty-second of that year was 
married to Major Lawrence Lewis. This wed- 
ding, which has been the inspiration of artists 
and authors alike, has come down in history as 
one of the most notable in the country, and is said 
to have been the culmination of Washington's 
worldly desires, uniting as it did the two beings 
most loved by him. 

Nellie Custis was the daughter of Eleanor, 
daughter of Benedict Calvert, sixth Lord Balti- 
more, who in 1698 married Lady Charlotte 
Fitzroy, and John Parke Custis, of no less dis- 
tinguished lineage, the first of the name having 
come to Virginia in 1640. Among his most cele- 
brated relatives was Colonel Daniel Parke, aide- 
de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough, of whom 
Sir Godfrey Kneller has left a superb portrait, 
which now hangs at Brandon, on the lower 
James. 

On being made Commander-in-Chief of the 
Continental Army, Washington appointed John 
Parke Custis one of his staff, the latter being his 
aide at the siege of Yorktown, in 1781. 

Eleanor Parke Custis, or " Nellie," as she is 

105 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

always called, was born at Abingdon, her 
father's country-seat on the Potomac, March 21, 
1778, but on his death, immediately after the 
Revolution, was adopted by Washington, and 
made Mount Vernon her home. 

Her portrait, done by Gilbert Stuart, shows a 
sweet-faced, serious girl of eighteen, dressed in 
the simple Empire gown of the period, filmy in 
texture and scant in design. The soft, clear 
flesh-tones blend into the pure white of the gown. 
The features, so strikingly regular, and the deep, 
pensive eyes show to advantage beneath the dark 
curls massed carelessly on top of the head, where 
they are caught with a few white blossoms. 

A distinguished writer of that time said of 
Nellie Custis, " She has more perfection of ex- 
pression, of colors, of softness, of firmness of 
mind, than any one I have ever seen before; " so 
one marvels not that she was the admired of all 
who frequented the White House during the 
years of Washington's administration. 

The story of the Lewis family is much too long 
to be told here. The f rst of the name who came 
to Virginia, in 1635, is said to have been de- 
scended from the Earl of Dorset, and no armorial 
bearings in the country are as interesting as 
those borne by this family. There is a good bit 

106 



WOODLAWN 



of controversy regarding the name of the first 
Lewis in Virginia, some asserting him to have 
been General Robert Lewis, of Brecon, Wales, 
who in 1650 patented 33,333^^. acres of land in 
Gloucester County, while other authorities dis- 
pute both the name and the grant. 

However that may be, there was certainly a 
Lewis in Gloucester County who left a son, John 
Lewis, who married Elizabeth Warner, and was 
the father of John Lewis, born in 1692. This 
John married Frances Fielding, and they were 
the parents of Fielding Lewis, born July 7, 1725. 
Colonel Fielding Lewis married Betty Wash- 
ington, she being his second wife, and in the 
family Bible now in the possession of the Lewises 
of Marmion, King George County, is the entry, 
in the handwriting of Colonel Fielding Lewis: 
*' Our ninth, a son, Lawrence Lewis, born April 
4, 1767. Mr. Charles Washington and Mr. 
Francis Thornton God fathers, and Miss Mary 
Dick, God mother." 

The word-picture painted by one of the con- 
temporaries of Lawrence Lewis is more apt than 
any that could be given by those who know him 
only as an actor in the drama of long ago: ** I 
remember him well, and entirely concur with 
those who supposed him to exhibit a remarkable 

107 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

likeness to his uncle, the General ; at least, he was 
in appearance so much like the best pictures of 
Washington that any one might have imagined 
he had actually sat for them." 

It is plain to be seen that the marriage of 
Lawrence Lewis and Nellie Custis was one of 
more than passing interest. Mount Vernon was 
in gala attire for this early wedding, which took 
place in the presence of the Dandridges, Lewises, 
Bushrods, Masons, Lees, Calverts, Carrolls, 
Custises, Blackburns, and numerous other dis- 
tinguished families. 

Flowers bloomed in the great dra^^ing-room ; 
myriads of wax tapers cast their soft glow about 
the merry assemblage, upon which the impassive 
faces of early ancestors looked down from their 
tarnished frames. Dainty maids with red-heeled 
slippers tripped through the stately minuet with 
lace-cravatted gallants who still wore the periwig. 
Never was there a scene more brilliant, or two 
beings more favored than they who were united 
amidst such beautiful surroundings. 

In the will of George Washington, dated July 
9, 1799, the Woodlawn estate is defined as " all 
that tract of land north of the road leading from 
the ford of Dogue Run to the Gum Spring, as 
described in the devise of the other part of the 

108 



WOODLAWN 



tract to Bushrod Washington, until it comes to 
the stone and the three red or Spanish oaks on the 
knowl — ^thence with the rectangular line to the 
back line, between ]Mr. INIason and me — thence 
with that line westerly along the new double ditch 
to Dogue Run by the tumbling dam of my mill — 
thence with the said run to the ford aforemen- 
tioned, to which I add all the land I possess west 
of said Dogue Creek, bounded easterly and 
southerly therby — together with the Mill and 
Distillery, and all other houses and improvements 
on the premises." 

The name Woodlawn was given the estate in 
memory of one of the old Lewis homes in Cul- 
peper County, and the manor-house, erected in 
1805, was in accordance with the last will of 
Washington, which also bequeathed to these 
favored beings of his affection a large amount 
of money for that purpose. 

Woodlawn was then, as it is now, one of the 
most pretentious of the Potomac River home- 
steads, being much more stately than IVIount 
Vernon, and a fitting abode for a family of the 
high position of Major Lewis and his bride. 

The brick mansion is placed upon a hill com- 
manding a superb view of the river, which here 
branches into a narrow cove, enclosing on two 



109 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

sides the shores of the estate. A winding road- 
way dimbs the steep slope to the terraced lawn, 
being there bordered with boxwood bushes of a 
century's growth and uniform size. Clumps of 
the same pungent shrub grow on either side of 
the river front, close to the house. In the rear 
the driveway is around a box-hedged circle, 
further adorned with an inner ring of that ever- 
green. 

Here the pleasaunce, carpeted with thick turf- 
ing, is studded with monarch trees, oaks, maples, 
and lindens for summer shade, and conical firs 
and red-berried hollies for a touch of color 
against the neutral winter background. 

The great manor-house has a most extraor- 
dinary frontage, consisting as it does of a large 
central building, sixty by forty feet, connected by 
covered corridors on either side with wings which 
in turn adjoin uncovered porches leading to a 
smaller annex. The red brick structure, with 
white stone ^\indow-arches and wooden portico, 
shows to-day no sign of its lengthy existence, 
and, though empty and neglected for some years, 
has responded nobly to the touch of those who 
have undertaken its rejuvenation with care not to 
mar or disturb the old lines. Ivy has been left 

to climb where it reached its tendrils in an age 

no 



WOODLAWN 



gone by; the old landmarks have been replaced, 
and the entire mansion may be said to rejoice in 
the youth that comes of an old age. 

At Woodlawn originally were many of the 
treasures now seen at IMount Vernon, for Nellie 
Custis was a child of fortune who lived her hfe 
under the brightest of stars. Under the roof of 
the commodious mansion unbounded hospitality 
always reigned. Lafayette and other titled old- 
world dignitaries were often the guests of her 
whom they had known as a child at Mount 
Vernon. President Zachary Taylor, one of the 
greatest favorites of the fair chatelaine, spent 
many happy days as her guest at the beautiful 
plantation, where a life of mingled sunshine and 
roses was led for many years. 

After the death of Major and Mrs. Lewis, the 
lands passed to their son Lorenzo, who married 
Esther Maria Coxe, of Philadelphia, and lived 
there ^^r some time. In 1845 the estate was 
bought by the New Jersey Colony, and was 
subsequent^ divided into small farms;. but it is 
the present owner of the old mansion. Miss Eliza- 
beth Sharp, who has restored to their early 
grandeur the buildings that cost nearly $100,000. 

There is no graveyard at Woodlawn to give 
rise to melancholy dreams of those who gave the 

111 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

fair acres fame, for Mount Vernon was the 
family place of burial, and there may be seen on 
the marble monument : 

" Sacred 

to the memory of Eleanor Parke Custis, 

granddaughter of Mrs. Washington, and adopted 

daughter of General Washington. 

Reared under the roof of the Father of his Country, 

this lady was not more remarkable for the beauty 

of her person than for the superiority of her 

mind, and died, to be regretted, July 15, 1852, 

in the seventy-fourth year of her age." 

In her memoir of George Washington Parke 
Custis, Mrs. Robert E. Lee, the niece of Nellie 
Custis, says : " All who knew her were wont to 
recall the pleasure they had derived from her 
extensive information, brilliant wit, and bound- 
less generosity. The most tender parent and 
devoted friend, she lived in the enjoyment of her 
aiFections. She was often urged to write her 
memoirs, which might even have surpassed in 
interest to her countrymen those of Madame de 
Sevigne and others of equal note, as her pen gave 
free expression to her lively imagination and 
clear memory. Would that we could recall the 
many tales of the past we have heard from her 

119 



WOODLAWN 



lips; but, alas! we should fail to give them 
accurately." 

Woodlawn is a picturesque bit of family his- 
tory in Virginia, associated as it is with those who 
made the country, and whose ideas and manners 
are retained to-day, though they themselves live 
only in the halo of an unforgettable past. 



TUCKAHOE 




^ N the midst of this 
prosiac age, when it 
is only in day-dreams 
and reveries that the 
famous figure of the 
Colonial Cavalier can 
be conjured up, we 
turn with gratefulness 
towards the old homesteads where he enjoyed his 
wealth, and something yet better, the peace of 
a quite mind. 

It is with just such a feeling of appreciation 
that Tuckahoe is first seen, the oldest Randolph 
estate in the country, and though the years have 
depleted the acres, the mansion still shelters the 
descendants of the splendid family of him who 
built it in the long ago. 

The Randolph name has been second to none in 
point of brilliancy throughout the history of 
America, the progenitor being William Ran- 
dolph, who came from Yorkshire, England, to 
Virginia about 1660, and is said to have been 
descended from Mary, Queen of Scots. Accord- 
ing to the best authority, the Robert Randolph 

114 



TUCKAHOE 



of Sussex who married Rose, the daughter of 
Thomas Roberts of Kent, was the great-grand- 
father of the Immigrant. William, the son of 
Robert, was born in 1572, and married first 
Elizabeth Smith, by whom he had a son, Thomas 
Randolph, born at Newnham in 1605 and known 
always as " the poet." Another son was Henry, 
who in 1643 cam.e to Virginia, Avhere he was 
Clerk of Henrico. The second wife of William 
Randolph was Dorothy, the Widow West, daugh- 
ter of Richard Lane of Courtenall, she being 
the mother of Richard, born in 1621, who 
married Elizabeth Ryland and lived in Warwick- 
shire. These were the i^arents of William Ran- 
dolph, the Immigrant, who was born in 1651 and 
on coming to Virginia in 1666 succeeded to the 
office of his uncle. 

Having bought, it is said, the whole of Sir 
Thomas Dale's settlement on the James, and 
other lands amounting to 10,000 acres, William 
Randolph settled on the plantation known as 
Turkey Island, so called from an island which 
was then but a short distance from the mouth of 
the Appomattox River and was noted for the 
wild turkeys which frequented it. He was a 
prominent member of the House of Burgesses 
and later of the King's Council. 

115 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

In 1680, or about that year, Colonel Randolph 
married Mary Isham, the daughter of Henry 
Isham of Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, their 
fourth child being Sir John Randolph of Wil- 
liamsburg, who married Susanna Beverley of^ 
Gloucester County. It is very probable that the 
mansion at Tuckahoe was built by him for his 
second son, Thomas, about 1700, Turkey Island 
having been inherited by the eldest son, William 
the Councillor. The general belief is, however, 
that the house was erected by Thomas Randolph 
himself after his marriage to Judith Churchill, 
which seems to have been about 1710. 

The name of Tuckahoe was borrowed from the 
Indians, who called the creek which flowed 
through the estate Tuckahoe. The rather odd- 
looking mansion, built in the form of an H, is 
placed on the brow of a hill overlooking the 
James, and has much the appearance of two 
houses connected by a large central hall. In 
olden days the family lived exclusively in the 
rear wing, the front being reserved for guests, 
who were always there in plenty. The square 
hall, or salon, is very lofty, and is used as a living- 
room as of yore, being so placed that it com- 
mands the light and air from all four points of 
the compass. Owing, perhaps, to necessity, the 

116 




THK NORTH STAIR 
Renowned in the architectural annals of the country 




rilK IIALI- AT TUCKAHOK 
which forms the II of the building 



TUCKAHOE 



wing ends are of brick laid in Flemish bond, the 
remainder of the building being frame, as were 
many houses of that time. 

Those misguided beings who unthinkingly or 
ignorantly state that in the South the interior 
trim was less carefully thought out and executed 
than in the dwellings of the North would do well 
to visit Tuckahoe, where there are many beautiful 
examples of interior decoration of the early 
seventeen hundreds. The exquisite carving of 
the stairw'ays and balustrades is particularly fine, 
and there is every indication that it was executed 
by foreign workmen imported for the purpose 
during the construction of the mansion. Though 
simple in design, the old mantels and fireplaces 
are perfect types of true Colonial art, never 
having been replaced by any of later date. The 
panelling of most of the rooms is of mahogany, 
and the entire staircase is of black walnut, which, 
though once barbarously painted, w^as scraped 
some years ago, and is now in its original state. 

Much of the furniture placed there in the early 
days is still at Tuckahoe, one of the most inter- 
esting pieces being the old desk which records 
prove stood in the great salon in the time of Wil- 
liam Randolph 2nd. Though most of the family 
portraits, with other cherished Lares and Penates, 

117 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

now adorn other mansions, there are still hung 
upon the rich walls the likenesses of some early 
Randolphs, who greet one kindly from their 
ancient frames. Notable among these are copies 
of Stuart's superb portraits of Thomas Jefferson 
and Thomas Mann Randolph, the latter showing 
the half-length figure of a man of merry counte- 
nance. He wears the velvet coat of the period, 
and over his hands, one of which is thrust inside 
the satin waistcoat while the other holds care- 
lessly a riding-whip, fall lace sleeve-ruffles. 

The manor-house is set in the midst of forest 
trees of magnificent growth, the long avenue 
which forms its outer approach being bordered 
with ancient cedars, which give place to well-kept 
box hedges, these, near the house, being interlined 
with a row of trees of the same shrub. 

The old garden, or " maze," as it is called, 
extends along one side of the mansion, and is 
one of the largest as well as the most beautiful 
of the old homesteads of the country. In the 
quaintly irregular flower squares and circles no 
new flowers have been allowed to supplant the 
modest old ones, and each bed knows always just 
one kind. In this grow only varicolored ver- 
benas, and in that golden marigolds bloom 
triumphant. Then come meek gillyflowers and 

118 



TUCKAHOE 



scarlet poppies ; pink sweet-william and shrinking 
lavender; inquisitive heart's-ease or stiff wall- 
flowers; gorgeous hollyhocks and columbines; 
larkspur, phlox, and meadowsweet. The effect 
is that of a huge bouquet, with green box divid- 
ing bright color from color. There is a subtle 
charm in the box-lined walks, with which it is easy 
to associate demure little ladies in mitts and 
kerchiefs keeping tryst with stately gallants in 
knee-breeches and powdered wigs. The Tucka- 
hoe garden is primly formal, and possesses the 
gTace of gentle breeding and an aged cultivation. 
Wandering in and out among the blossoms, pity- 
ing those who must have been loath to leave 
their beauty years ago, and marvelling at their 
loyal return as season follows season and century 
climbs over century, we remember that some one 
gave words to the beautiful thought: " What 
a desolate place would be a world without 
flowers! It would be a face without a smile; a 
feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the 
stars of the earthy and are not our stars the 
flowers of heaven? " 

The old school-house that still stands at Tucka- 
hoe was, so tradition claims, Thomas Jefferson's 
alma mater, he having received his early educa- 
tion from the master of the young Randolphs of 

119 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

that time. Whether this be true or not, there 
may yet be seen on one of the plastered walls, 
about three feet above the floor, the name of that 
master statesman written in a scrawling, boyish 
hand. The roof of the little frame building is 
now mossy with age, and the tree that might have 
been but a sapling when it was first built now 
towers protectingly above it, while the thicket in 
the rear of the historic walls has sprung up since 
the day of its distinguished pupils. 

Tuckahoe, in common with most of the old 
landed estates, has its private burial-ground, 
wherein were laid to rest the lords of the manor 
and their families for generations. The three- 
foot wall surrounding the graveyard is of white- 
washed brick ornamented with stone; it was 
restored in 1892 by the descendants of the family, 
through the efforts of Miss Frances Dickens, a 
granddaughter of Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. 
On the marble tablet set in the north side is in- 
scribed : 

" Randolphs of Tuckahoe 

1698—1830 
Fari Quae Admirari 
Church of England." 

The large tablet on the east wall bears the fol- 
lowing family record : 

120 



TUCKAHOE 



"Thomas Randolph B. at Turkey Island 1683 

Judith Churchill Middlesex County 

William Randolph B. at Tuckahoe 1712 D. 1745 

Mary Page of Rosewell Gloucester County 

Thomas Mann Randolph B. at Tuckahoe 1741 

D. 1793 

Ann Carey and Gabriella Harvie 

Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. B. 1792 D. 1848 

Plarriet Wilson and Lucy Patterson 

1st. Cor. 13th Chapt. 

96th Psalm 12th Verse." 

On the mural tablet of the west side is the 
inscription : 

" Harriet Vaughan Wilson 

Wife of 

Captain Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. 

By their daughter 

Mrs. Margaret Harvie Dickens." 

On the death of Thomas Randolph, the estate 
was inherited by his son William, second of the 
name and line, who married Maria Judith, 
daughter of Mann Page of Rosewell, and it was 
their son, born in 1741 and called Thomas, of 
Tuckahoe, who brought the plantation into its 
greatest prominence. 

Thomas Mann Randolph of Tuckahoe married 
first Ann, daughter of Colonel Archibald Carey 

121 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

of Ampthill, and of their thirteen children 
Thomas Mann Randolph 2nd and Mary were the 
most distinguished; the former being Governor 
of Virginia in 1819 and the son-in-law of Thomas 
Jefferson, whose daughter, INIartha Wayles, he 
married, and the latter, who married William 
Keith, being the grandmother of Chief -Justice 
Marshall. 

After his first wife died, Thomas IVIann Ran- 
dolph married Gabriella Harvie, whose father 
owned the estate adjoining his Albemarle County 
plantation. Being very young when she married, 
and never outliving her early love-affair with an 
employee of her father's, by the name of Mar- 
shall, whom she wished to marry, Mrs. Randolph 
entered into a whirl of gayeties at Tuckahoe, the 
stories of which have added no little to the fame 
dnd prestige of the mansion. 

On the death of Thomas ^lann Randolph, in 
1793, Tuckahoe was inherited by his son by his 
second marriage, Thomas Mann Randolph 2nd, 
so called in contradistinction to his half-brother 
of the same name who resided at Edge Hill in 
Albemarle County. Born at Tuckahoe in 1792, 
Thomas Mann Randolph 2nd married first Har- 
riet Wilson and secondly Lucy Patterson, and 
was the last of the name to own the old home- 

123 



TUCKAHOE 



stead, which was bought in 1830 by Hezekiah and 
Edwin Wight. 

Passing through various other hands, it was 
sold in 1850 to Joseph Allen, remaining in the 
possession of that family until 1898, when it went 
by purchase to Mr. J. Randolph Coolidge of 
Boston, who brought the historic estate back into 
the original line of owners, his mother having 
been Ellen Wayles Randolph, daughter of 
Thomas :Mann Randolph of Edge Hill. Mr. 
Coolidge, being a grandson of Martha Jeffer- 
son, is the oldest living male descendant of 
Thomas Jefferson, while his five sons, who own 
the property with him, are the great-great-great- 
great-great-grandsons of William Randolph, 
the Immigrant. 

Day-dreams and reveries must always be a part 
of the life at Tuckahoe, for it was near here that 
Nathaniel Bacon lived, and fancy pictures easily 
the haughty Cavalier rebel who dared to solve the 
same problem just one century before the Revo- 
lution. Sighs are born of knowledge of the out- 
come, and the most hardened heart flutters in 
sympathy for the early patriot, whose homestead 
and rolling acres were confiscated by the Crown, 
the 1230 acres being bought by William Ran- 
dolph, in 1698, for the paltry sum of 150 pounds 
of tobacco. 

123 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

It is over such historic ground that the twen- 
tieth century visitor to Tuckahoe looks, from its 
commanding situation on the high bank of the 
James, that beautiful plantation belt, instinct 
with the social prestige and historic romance of 
an era unfortunately irrecoverable. And it is 
with a sense of deep gratitude that one appreci- 
ates the domestic associations which cluster about 
the rare estate like a garland of fragrant flowers, 
and which lured back to the early homestead a 
patriotic son. 



SHIRLEY 




HAT the old home- 
steads of James River 
stand preeminent 
among the magnifi- 
cent estates of Col- 
onial times is a fact 
undisputed both in 
America and abroad, 
for the early planters of this section of Virginia 
left their records to live immortally under hal- 
lowed associations of historic legend and tradi- 
tional romance. 

Just four short years after the settlement of 
Jamestown, in 1611, Sir Thomas Dale, then 
Governor of the Virginia Colony, laid out and 
gave title to the plantation of Shirley, supposed 
to have been named for Sir Thomas Shirley, of 
Whiston, England. 

In 1622, the year of the fearful Indian 
massacre, Shirley is spoken of as one of the best 
fortified places on the James, and here many of 
the survivors took refuge in the old block-house 
still to be seen. Some years after that, the lands 

125 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

came into the possession of the Honorable, often 
called " Sir " Edward Hill, a member of His 
Majesty's Council and Speaker of the House of 
Burgesses in 1654. Colonel Hill also held the 
offices of Treasurer of Virginia, Judge of the 
Admiralty Court, and Commander-in-Chief of 
Surry and Charles City Counties. 

On the death of Colonel Hill, in 1700, the 
estate of Shirley, which had become prominent as 
his country-seat, was inherited by his son, Edward 
Hill, who, dying without heirs, left it to his sister 
Elizabeth, a noted wit and beauty, who married 
John Carter of Corotoman, in 1723, since when 
it has remained in the possession of the Carter 
family. 

John Carter, known always as the Secretary, 
having been appointed to that high office in 1722, 
was the eldest son of King Carter of Corotoman, 
whose father, John, the first of the name in 
Virginia, came from England about 1649 and is 
said to have married five times, M-hich well ac- 
counts for the great number of Carters in the 
country to-day. 

The handsome portrait of Secretary Carter, 
painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, which still hangs 
on the drawing-room wall at Shirley, shows the 
high-bred features of a man in early life. His 

126 



SHIRLEY 



velvet coat is set off by silver braid and buttons, 
and the silver-trimmed Continental hat is held 
easily in his right hand, leaving his flowing white 
wig uncovered. 

That of Elizabeth Hill, which hangs near him, 
represents a young girl with large, soft eyes and 
fair hair. A mantle is thrown carelessly about 
her shoulders, and in her plump arms she carries 
a cluster of roses and jessamine and other old- 
fashioned flowers. 

After the death of Secretary Carter, in 174<2, 
his widow married Bowler Cocke, who held 
Shirley until he died in 1 771 , when the estate re- 
verted to Charles Carter, the eldest son of the 
Secretary, who was the first of the name to live 
there. 

Charles Carter, born in 1732, received his edu- 
cation at William and Mary College. He was 
in the House of Burgesses in 1758, and filled 
other important positions. He married first 
Mary W. Carter, his cousin, the daughter of 
Charles Carter of Cleve, his second wife being 
Ann Butler, daughter of Bernard Moore of 
Chelsea, King William County, and grand- 
daughter of Governor Spotswood. Anne, the 
da^ighter of Ann Butler and Charles Carter, 
married General Henry Lee of Stratford, 

127 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

" Light Horse Harry," of Revolutionary fame, 
and was the mother of Robert E. Lee. 

Though the first house at Shirley was built by 
Colonel Edward Hill in 1650, it was his grand- 
son, Charles Carter, who made extensive altera- 
tions after his second marriage in 1770. The 
roof he had changed from the quaint hipped 
style to a mansard relieved by dormer windows, 
thus giving it somewhat the appearance of a 
French chateau. He also added the porticos on 
both fronts of the mansion, and to him are 
accredited the beautiful cornices and panelhng 
seen throughout the interior. 

The large square structure, the bricks of which 
are laid in Flemish bond, stands on a high bluff 
about two hundred yards from the river, towards 
which the thickly turfed lawn slopes gently. It 
is set in the midst of forest trees, the grounds 
being lavishly adorned with here a gnarled and 
ivied yew and there an old elm or linden, while 
close to the water a superb clump of oaks shields 
the grand old homestead from the eager curiosity 
and prying eyes of those who pass up and down 
the river. 

The garden on the south side of the house, 
which is entered through a curious gateway, ^vas 
laid oiF by Mary Carter in early 1800. Broad 

128 



SHIRLEY 

box-edged walks extend at right angles through 
the garden, where many rare plants and shrubs 
grow among the simpler flowers. Not only the 
garden but the entire rear lawn is enclosed with a 
wonderful box hedge, one of Shirley's most 
notable landscape features. And beyond, in a 
grove of tulip poplars, is the ancient graveyard 
wherein lie buried the many generations of Hills 
and Carters, the oldest tomb being that of 
Colonel Edward Hill, which was placed there in 
1700. 

From the land side, the approach to the estate 
is through woodland, picturesque in the gentle 
greens of early April or the more fantastic color- 
ing of the autumnal months. 

One of the chief features of the mansion on the 
interior is the richly carved mantel in the draw- 
ing-room, which shows the emblematic pineapple 
design. The doorway between drawing-room 
and dining-room has a heavily moulded casement 
surmounted by an exquisitely carved pediment, in 
which the pineapple is again seen. Upon the 
walls are rich old portraits, and the first to attract 
the eye is the likeness of John Carter, which is 
placed near that of Elizabeth Hill. The gentle, 
kindly face of Charles Carter looks from the can- 
vas half reprovingly at his saucy-faced sister 

9 129 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

** Betty," who as Elizabeth Byrd met such a 
shocking fate. In another part of the room the 
light falls upon the features of the beautiful 
Welsh lady, Miss Williams, who came to Amer- 
ica as the bride of Colonel Edward Hill. It falls 
again upon the dimmed face of Colonel Hill him- 
self, the builder of the mansion, which hangs near 
that of Spotswood's granddaughter, Ann Butler 
Moore, wife of Charles Carter of Shirley. 

The three notable St. Memins are of WilUam 
and Robert Carter, the sons of Charles, and 
Mary Nelson, the wife of Robert, who first 
planted the old garden. 

The square hall is one of unusual size, with 
heavy panels. The quaint desk that sits beneath 
the famous stairway is the one upon which 
Charles Carter wrote many important despatches 
and the letters which are preserved to-day. In 
this hall hangs a portrait of renowned King Car- 
ter, as he appeared in middle life, the other being 
of Judith Armistead, his first wife. 

In the dining-room the crested silver of the 
first Carter is still used and carefully watched 
over, showing to advantage against the antique 
mahogany furniture. The principal portrait in 
the dining-room is that of George Washington, 
by Charles Wilson Peale, which represents the 

130 




IIR DKAWINC-ROOM AT SHIRLKY 




nil:; llAI.l. Al .-.IMKI.I.'i 



SHIRLEY 



life-sized figure of the gallant General in all his 
brave toggery. 

Two other celebrated portraits among the col- 
lection at Shirley are of Peter Randolph and his 
wife, Lucy Boiling, whose mother, Jane, was the 
daughter of Thomas Rolfe, the son of Poca- 
hontas. 

In the midst of a busy public life Charles 
Carter found time to do much charity, generosity 
to the poorer classes being one of his most promi- 
nent characteristics. That he was an excellent 
man of business is proven in the fact that when 
he died, in 1806, he left 35,000 acres of land as 
weU as £12,000 sterling. He was an ardent 
devotee of agriculture, and did much towards 
the furtherance of that pursuit. Some one has 
written of him: " His long life was spent in the 
tranquillity of domestic enjoyments. From the 
mansion of hospitality his immense wealth flowed 
like silent streams, enlivening and refreshing 
every object around. In fulfilling the duties of 
his station, he proved himself to be an Israelite 
indeed — in whom there was no guile." 

Nor could a better insight into his true char- 
acter be given than to quote the following letter, 
written by JNIr. Carter to his old pastor in Lan- 
caster County, the Reverend Mr. Currie: 

131 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

" Shirley, May 12, 1790. 

" My DEAR Friend : — Your letters, the one by Mrs. 
Carter, and the other enclosing your amiable daughter's 
to that good lady, are both come safe to hand, and 
you may rest assured that nothing could give my 
family a greater pleasure than to hear and know from 
yourself — that is to say, to have it under your own 
signature — that you still enjoy a tolerable share of 
health; and your friend, Mrs. Ann Butler, begs leave 
to join with me in congratulating both you and Mrs. 
Currie upon being blessed, not only with dutiful, 
healthy, and robust children, but clever and sensible. 
We rejoice to hear it, and pray God they may prosper 
and become useful members of society. 

" As you are of Caledonian race, you may yet out- 
live a Buckskin; should it so happen, my will has 
directed five hundred acres of my land at Nantypyron 
to be laid off for the use of Mrs. Currie for and during 
her natural life. In the meantime, no po\\er that I 
know of can deprive you of your right to the glebe. 
Our best wishes attend you and yours, and believe me 
when I subscribe myself, dear sir, 

" Your affectionate friend and servant, 

" Charles Carter." 

Of the twenty-three children of Charles Car- 
ter, Dr. Robert Carter, who married Mary, 
daughter of General Thomas Nelson of York- 
town, fell heir to Shirley. From him the estate 

132 



SHIRLEY 

was inherited by his eldest son, Hill Carter, an 
officer in the United States Navy in 1812, who 
married Mary Braxton, daughter of Colonel 
Robert Randolph. Shirley next fell to his son, 
Robert Randolph Carter, U. S. A., who married 
Louise Humphreys, and their daughter, Mrs. 
Alice Carter Bransford, the present owner, is 
sixth in a direct line from Charles Carter of 
Shirley. 

This estate suffered less from the wars than 
most of the old homesteads, and has since been 
kept in perfect repair, only needful restorations 
having been made, in accordance with the first 
owner's design. 

The old dove-cote in one of the meadows shel- 
ters a large family of pigeons, many generations 
removed from the ancestors fh'st taught to build 
there for the pleasure of a youthful Carter in the 
good old days. 

Everywhere in this historic region are met 
places and people closely identified with the inci- 
dents and events marking our very dramatic be- 
ginning as a world-power, and no estate holds a 
greater store of history and romance than proud 
old Shirley, living to-day to tell the tale of what 
life used to be. 



WESTOVER 




HASTELLUX, who, 
during his travels in 
the eighteenth cen- 
tury, was particularly 
impressed with that 
section of Virginia 
lying along the lower 
James, wrote: "We 
travelled six and twenty miles by a very agree- 
able road with magnificent houses in view at 
every instant, for the banks of James River 
form the garden of Virginia." And doubtless 
the most impressive among these mansions and 
estates which so attracted the Frenchman was 
Westover. 

In the year 1638 Captain Thomas Paulett, a 
kinsman of Sir William Berkeley, patented 2000 
acres, which he called " Westopher," supposedly 
in honor of the West brothers, the Lords Dela- 
ware, who were the first settlers of this particular 
locality. On his death the lands went to his 
brother in England, Sir John Paulett, who in 
1665 sold part to Otho Soutcoat and the rest to 

134 



WESTOVER 



Theodorick Bland. Bland, whose tomb may yet 
be seen in the plantation graveyard, left the estate 
to his sons, Theodorick and Richard, from whom 
it was conveyed to William Bird in 1688, for 
£300 sterling and 10,000 pounds of tobacco, and 
it was under the Byrd regime that its fame was 
established. 

William Bird's descent is traced from the 
family of that name of Brexton, or Broxton, 
England, who, according to Holme's " Heraldic 
Collections for Cheshire," were heard of in Charl- 
ton in the twelfth centurj% Hugo Le Bird being 
the first known ancestor. 

John Bird, of London, father of the Immi- 
grant, married Grace Stegg, daughter of Cap- 
tain Thomas Stegg. In the will of Thomas 
Stegg, brother of Mrs. Bird, dated March 31, 
1670, his nephew, William Bird, is left his Amer- 
ican estate, which lay on both sides of the James 
River. 

William Bird, born in London in 1653, came 
to Virginia in 1674, where he at once assumed a 
prominent position in the Colony, and he it seems 
to have been who changed the orthography of 
the family name to Byrd. When barely twenty 
years old he married Mary, the daughter of 
Colonel Warham Horsemanden of Ulcombe, a 

135 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 



Kentish Cavalier descended in a direct line from 
Edward III. of England. 

To his hereditary possessions Colonel William 
Byrd continued to add until his total holdings 
were 26,231 acres, making him one of the largest 
land-owners in the country. He also built the 
first Westover dwelhng, about 1690, but it re- 
mained for , his son, the renowned Colonel 
William Byrd, to develop the unlimited possibili- 
ties of the broad acres. 

William Byrd 2nd was born in 1674, and 
married in 1706 Lucy Parke, daughter of 
Colonel Daniel Parke, aide-de-camp to the Duke 
of Marlborough and a close friend of Queen 
Anne. From this union there were two chil- 
dren, the beautiful Evelyn, who died unmarried, 
and Wilhelmina, who married Thomas Chamber- 
layne of Virginia. 

After the death of his first wife, in 1716, he 
spent some time in England, but, marrying Maria 
Taylor, an English heiress, in 1724, he returned 
to Virginia in 1726, when his son, William, 3rd, 
was born, and at once began the erection of the 
manor-house which is seen to-day, notwithstand- 
ing the fires and strifes of the bitter wars that 
have passed over and about it. 

The most superb river location was chosen for 
the site of the brick mansion, modelled in many 

136 



WESTOVER 



respects after Drayton Court, in Northampton- 
shire, England, then the home of the Earl of 
Peterborough and now the property of Stock- 
ville Sackville, M. P., a cousin of Lord Sackville- 
West. This residence, which crowns the summit 
of the bluiF rising steeply from the river, is 
generally believed to have been built in 1737, but 
this seems unlikely for two reasons, the first 
being that Colonel Byrd, owing to pecuniary 
embarrassments, at that time thought of selling 
the estate. Secondly, as it is kno^\Ti that he had 
a chart of the grounds made in 1735, showing 
them to be completed, it is hardly credible that the 
mansion should have been erected at a later date. 
The generous proportions of the manor-house 
leave the impression of a substantial appearance 
combining the effects of comfort and age. The 
three-story central building, with its high, sloping 
roof, is flanked on either side with smaller wings 
showing gambrel roofs, the east of which, having 
been razed by troops during the Civil War, has 
only lately been rebuilt. The entire house is 
underrun by spacious cellars, beneath one of 
which is a hidden room. Tradition tells many 
weird and curious tales of these eight-foot square 
rooms placed at a depth of fifteen feet, which are 
supposed to have connected with the subterranean 

137 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

passage that led to the river in by-gone years. 
Two other underground rooms, which also served 
as hiding-places from the Indians, are reached 
through a dry well. Curiously enough, one of 
these rooms connects directly with a chamber in 
the third story, where Mary Willing, second wife 
of the third William Byrd, was locked while the 
Continental soldiers ransacked her private 
papers, suspecting her of treason during the 
Revolution. Being a cousin of Benedict Arnold 
through his marriage to Peggy Shippen, Mrs. 
Byrd was accused of trying to aid him in his 
James River campaign. 

Running the full depth of the house is the 
great eighteen-foot hall, from the rear of which 
ascends the graceful stairway, with its twisted 
balustrades of solid mahogany brought from 
England. The walls and ceilings of many of the 
rooms show the same decorations which adorned 
them two centuries ago. 

In the drawing-room the panelling is a little 
more ornate, and here is placed the famous black 
marble mantel, the mirror of which is framed in 
exquisitely wrought white Italian marble, the 
pediment and other ornamentation being of the 
same. For this one decoration, which Colonel 
Byrd brought over from Europe, £500 was paid, 
a sum equivalent to $2500. 

138 



WESTOVER 



One of the greatest prides of Colonel Byrd's 
life was the library, harboring as it did four 
thousand volumes collected by him, but which 
unfortunately were sold after the death of his 
son. One can easily fancy the first gentleman 
of Virginia sitting there writing to a friend in 
England : " A library, a garden, a grove, and a 
purling stream are the innocent pleasures that 
direct our leisure." 

In the beautiful old home there is a wealth of 
rare furniture brought frofn England and the 
Continent, some of which was at Westover in the 
time of the second William Byrd, the choice 
Hepplewhite sideboard in the dining-room being 
the most conspicuous among the latter. But per- 
haps the finest antiques which adorn the house 
are two superb carved and gilded wood torcheres 
bearing the hall-mark of that master craftsman, 
Chippendale. 

The approach to the mansion from the rear 
is through the handsome wrought-iron gates 
brought from England by William Byrd, and 
the finest examples to be seen in America to-day. 
These far-famed gates, into which the monogram 
W. B. is skilfully worked, swing from huge 
stone columns surmounted with massive balls 
upon which perch life-sized leaden eagles, repre- 

139 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

senting the family crest. The sloping lawn, with 
its incomparable turfing, is enclosed by a low, 
ivj^-hung brick wall broken by gateways, bearing 
the Byrd arms, through which are entered the 
avenues leading to the boat-landings, the terrace 
being protected from the river wash by a substan- 
tial wall of masonry rebuilt upon the old foun- 
dations. 

Just in front of the mansion, as it faces the 
river, is a magnificent row of tulip poplars, which 
rear their proud crested heads in loving protec- 
tion over the old dwelling. The smooth and 
verdant sward is dotted with ancient trees of 
marvellous size, and in the midst of these native 
forest monarchs is a perfectly symmetrical yew 
pronounced by Professor Sargent the finest 
specimen in America. Robins, wrens, and mock- 
ing-birds, the gay plumed cardinal and the 
sombre thrush, sing their morn and even song 
from among the trees and hedges, flashing as 
they flit from branch to branch glimpses of bril- 
liant color from a background of restful green. 

In the walled garden of two acres, towering 
above the precise box borders, arc spreading trees 
of the same evergreen grown to the remarkable 
height of ten and fifteen feet. The turfed walk- 
ways crossing each other at right angles are lined 

140 




THE CHl.KBRATh;!) NORTH GATKWAY AT VVESTOVER 
witli nioiio(rrain of William Byrii 




llIK lOMlt OK WII.MAM HVRD 
which dominates the old-fashioned erarden 



WESTOVER 



with chains of old-fashioned flowers and beds of 
dehcate tea-roses, which savor always of Canton 
china and willow ware. But the central point 
towards which everything seems to bend, in this 
fragrant garden, is the stately monument mark- 
ing the resting-place of Colonel William Byrd, 
which dominates the entire place. 

Cherokee rose-vines, ferns, and mosses fringe 
the brick wall, on the other side of which 
is the myrtle-covered graveyard, which holds 
much of interest in its curious epitaphs and 
quaint old tombs. According to some anti- 
quarians, the oldest tombstone in America lies at 
Westover. Originally the coat of arms was cut 
into this stone, though time has washed away or 
rendered faint so many of its outlines that it is 
now barely visible. The epitaph, which may still 
be deciphered, reads : 

" Here lyeth the bod}^ of Captaine 

Wm. Perry who lived neere 

Westover in the Collony 

Who departed this life the 6th day of 

August Anno Domini 1637." 

Here, too, rests, " in the sleep of deep peace," 

the fairest flower of Colonial Virginia, toast of 

the old world and the new, beautiful Evelyn 

Byrd, whose pathetic story awakens the keenest 

111 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

interest and sincerest sympathy in the hearts of 
stranger and friend. 

When Evelyn Byrd M'as presented at the court 
of George II., her American beauty took London 
by storm, and though she had been educated in 
England, her refreshing naivete and innocence 
was that of the wild flower among exotics. Ex- 
quisite, stately, winsome, she won the heart and 
returned the love of Charles Mordaunt, grandson 
and heir of Lord Peterborough, a bright star in 
the social, diplomatic, and literary world of his 
day, and, according to his portrait which hangs 
at Drayton Court, as handsome as a young god. 
Whether the Earl of Peterborough smiled upon 
the lovers history may never know, but the 
haughty master of Westover, whether by reason 
of being a staunch Protestant or for some per- 
sonal grievance against his one-time friend, 
brought his daughter back to Virginia, opposing 
her love for Mordaunt, on the ground of his be- 
longing to a leading Catholic family. But the 
wound never healed, and little by little the once 
gay life succumbed to the tyranny of the father. 
Evelyn Byrd's hand was sought by many, but all 
her love was given to one, and sorrowing for her 
blighted youth, wondering at the " Genial 
Seigneur," we quote the simple family record: 

U2 



WESTOVER 



" Refusing all offers from other gentlemen, she 
died of a broken heart." 

Westover Church, erected in 1690 in accord- 
ance Avith the law passed in 1621 by Sir Thomas 
Yeardley requiring a house of worship and a 
burial-ground on every plantation, and where 
were baptized, married, and buried generations 
of the country's most notable men and women, 
was moved in 1731 to another part of the estate, 
called Evelynton in memory of the fair Evelyn, 
where it now stands, in a verdant setting of giant 
black walnut trees, upon the eight acres of 
ground reserved for it in the will of Mrs. Mary 
Willing Byrd. 

When William the Great of Westover died, in 
1744, the acres of the noble estate numbered 
179,440, about 281 square miles, a veritable prin- 
cipality indeed. The name of Colonel William 
Byrd will long live in the annals of the country. 
Of him one writer says : " His path through life 
was a path of roses. He had wealth, culture, the 
best private library in America, social considera- 
tion, and hosts of friends; and when he went to 
sleep under the monument in the garden at West- 
over, he left behind him not only the reputation 
of a good citizen, but that of the great Virginia 
wit and author of the century." 

143 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

His writings are among the most valuable of 
the era in which he lived, no library now being 
deemed complete without the " Westover Manu- 
scripts," the originals of which are still at Bran- 
don. The life of Colonel William Byrd may be 
summed up in the epitaph carved into the granite 
shaft which marks his resting-place in the beauti- 
ful old-fashioned garden: 

" Here lyeth 

the Honourable William Byrd Esq. 

Being born to one of the amplest fortunes in this 

country he was early sent to England for 

his education 

where under the care and direction of Sir Robert 

Southwell, and ever favored with his 

particular instructions, 

he made a happy proficiency in polite and various 

learning. By means of the same noble friend, 

he was introduced to the acquaintai.je of many of 

the first persons of the age 

for knowledge, wit, vli'tue, birth, or high 

station, 

and particularly contracted a most intimate and 

bosom friendship 

with the learned and Illustrious Chai'les Boyle, 

Earl of Orrery. 

He was called to the bar in the Middle Temple, 

studied for some time in the low countries, 

144 



WESTOVER 



visited the Court of France, 

and was chosen Fellow of the Royal Society. 

Thus eminently fitted for the service and ornament 

of his country, 

he was made Receiver general of his Majesty's 

revenues here, was thrice appointed publick 

agent to the Court and ministry of 

England, 

and being thirty-seven years a member, 

at last became President of the Council of tliis 

Colony 

To all this were added a great elegancy and 

taste of life, 

the well bred gentleman and polite companion, 

the splendid QEconomist and prudent father of 

a family, 

with the constant enemy of all exorbitant power, 

and hearty friend to the liberties of his Country." 

No beau could turn a prettier compliment than 
William Byrd; no wit could make a more apt 
speech; no schttlar could write better English; 
nor could any fop boast finer costumes than this 
first gentleman of Virginia, who lived nearly 
three centuries ago, and died to be regretted, 
leaving a place and space in life that must remain 
forever unfilled. 

The only son of Colonel Byrd, known as Wil- 
liam 3rd, inherited the plantation of Westover, 
which proved an unfortunate day for the fair 

10 145 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

estate. He married Elizabeth, daughter of 
John Carter of Shirley, in 1748, but the union 
was not a happy one, and after her tragic death, 
in 1760, he is said to have married Mary Willing, 
of Philadelphia, godchild of Benjamin Frank- 
lin, within a few months. 

Of the third and last Colonel Byrd, Anbury 
says: " His great ability and personal accom- 
plishments were universally esteemed; but being 
infatuated with play, his affairs at his death were 
in a deranged state. The widow, whom he left 
with eight children, has, by prudent management, 
preserved out of the wreck of his princely for- 
tune a beautiful home at a place called Westover, 
upon James River, some personal property, a 
few plantations, and a number of slaves." But 
on the death of Mrs. Byrd the estate was sold, 
being bought by William Carter in 1814. Hav- 
ing lived there four or five years, Mr. Carter sold 
the place to Mr. Douthat, as owing to financial 
reverses he could no longer keep it up. The next 
owner was one of the Harrisons of Brandon, a 
cousin of Colonel Byrd. 

Twice was Westover ravaged by Benedict 
Arnold, and once by Cornwallis, and here 
McClellan pitched his tents in a later war. The 
plantation was then owned by Colonel John 

146 





j|lfcr 


qf 


1 


1 


m 


c 






^ttiiCi 


^ 


M 







THE CORNKK OK A GUEST CHAMBER AT WESTOVER 



THE UKAWINC ROOM AT WESTOVER 
Showing tlie famous black marble mantel 



WESTOVER 



Seidell, who had done much towards its restora- 
tion, and added to the landscape features by- 
planting the superb row of tulip poplars, now 
one of the greatest charms of the place. During 
the Civil War the mansion was also division 
headquarters for Fitz John Porter's corps; and 
his lawless troops, not content with other crimes 
of pure vandalism, stabled their horses in the 
historic church, damaging fearfully the interior. 

From Colonel Selden the estate was bought by 
Major Drewery, and in 1899 it again changed 
hands, falling into the possession of one who has 
repaired with sincere appreciation the wreckage 
of years and wars, Mrs. Clarise Sears Ramsay. 
Mrs. Ramsay, besides being a collateral descend- 
ant of Col. William Byrd, is, on the maternal 
side, by birth, a Sears of the old Sears family 
of Massachusetts, and through them can claim 
relationship with some of England's proudest 
families. In addition to this she has as direct an- 
cestors such worthies as Lyon Gardiner of Gardi- 
ner's Island, Gov. Stephen Hopkins, Gov. Thos. 
Prince, and the famous Elder Wm. Brewster. 

The blue teapot is truly lived up to in the life 
at Westover to-day, and in the restoration of the 
Georgian manor-house there is no detail of fur- 
nishing that has not been as carefully thought out 

147 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

as executed ; so it is safe to assert that in its return 
to its former splendor it stands the most faultless 
examj)le of eighteenth century architecture and 
furnishing to be found in America. 

In all of these noble country-seats the per- 
sonality of the first owners is keenly felt and 
appreciated. From the very architecture to the 
comforts and luxuries blended harmoniously, one 
readily forms a mental picture of the Cavaliers 
who fathered them, and no one could glimpse 
Westover, living to-day as tranquilly as if it had 
never known aught but the sunshine and roses of 
a romantic age, without realizing vividly the man 
and mind under whose regime it first became 
famous, *' the Genial Seigneur," as he was 
known. 



BRANDON 




N the banks of James 
River, heaven and 
earth, acting in true 
harmony and accord, 
seem to have made a 
perfect abiding-place 
for man. From dewy 
April till black-frosted 
December the soft, mild air is almost that of 
springtime; the rich meadow lands and exquisite 
water highway are as well fitted for the comfort, 
pleasure, and luxury of men to-day as they were 
for the wise Colonists who, first to realize its 
possibilities, chose this setting for a future 
country that May day long ago. 

Every bend of this far-famed stream teems 
with historj% which holds the same interest for 
the student that the rare old homesteads have for 
the antiquarian. A languorous atmosphere, born 
of years of strife and struggle crowned with 
centuries of success, pervades the entire sur- 
roundings, being felt in each tiny leaflet, every 
winsome flower, that springs from such hallowed 
soil. 

149 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

In the halcyon days of Virginia the planta- 
tion homes of the settlers were little kingdoms 
in themselves, with their own carpenters, coopers, 
mechanics, and other workmen of all sorts and 
conditions. In some of these rare old home- 
steads generation has succeeded generation, and 
the estates have passed from father to son in such 
regular succession that, for instance, to speak of 
the Harrisons of Brandon is all that is necessary 
to convey to the least initiated the important posi- 
tion of this renowned family, which has been so 
closely identified with the romance and valor that 
made Virginia history what it is. 

The great Brandon tract, of many thousand 
acres, was patented by James Martin, a son of 
Sir Richard Martin, of England, who in 1616 
was granted ten shares of land by the Vir- 
ginia Company, which he named in memory of 
the little town of Brandon, in Suffolk, England. 
From James Martin the estate passed to Lady 
Frances Ingleby, and from her to Nathaniel 
Harrison in 1698, since when it has remained in 
the possession of the descendants of this member 
of His Majesty's Council. This deed, as well as 
that to James Martin, may be seen at Brandon, 
among other valuable and historic papers. 

The first Harrison in Virginia, Benjamin by 

150 



BRANDON 



name, emigrated about 1630, when he was made 
Clerk of the Council and a member of the House 
of Burgesses. The Christian name of his wife 
is known to have been Mary, but we are in the 
dark as to her surname. 

Benjamin 2nd, son of the Immigrant, was born 
in 1645, and became one of the most prominent 
men of Surry County. The name of his wife 
also seems a bit vague, though family tradition 
claims her to have been Hannah Churchill. Of 
the children of this marriage, Nathaniel, born in 
Surry County, August 8, 1677, acquired the 
Brandon estate. 

Always known as Nathaniel Harrison of 
Brandon, this grandson of the Immigrant suc- 
ceeded to his father's place in the Council. He 
was also a Burgess, Naval Officer of Lower 
James River, Auditor-General, and County 
Lieutenant of Prince Gl^eorge and Surry Coun- 
ties. He married Mary Young, daughter of 
John and Jane Flood Cary, of London. 

His son, Nathaniel 2nd, on August 23, 1713, 
married Mary Digges, daughter of Colonel Co^e 
Digges, of an ancient and honorable family. 
On the death of his first wife he married Luc}'' 
Carter Fitzhugh, widow of Henry Fitzhugh of 
Bedford, and youngest daughter of King Carter. 

151 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

The older wing of the mansion was built by 
Colonel Nathaniel Harrison in 1702, or earlier; 
the other, with the square central dwelling, which 
boasts no less a personage than Thomas Jeffer- 
son as its architect, was added by his son of the 
same name, Nathaniel Harrison 2nd. The wings 
are joined to the main building by one-story en- 
closed corridors, all being of brick laid in Flemish 
bond. 

The entrances on both the north and the south 
are from porches of fair extent, which present a 
novel touch, proving the ingenuity of the build- 
ers, forced into invention through sheer neces- 
sity. Having but two capitals for the four front 
columns, and two for the rear pilasters, the car- 
penter with his jig-saw made the lacking orna- 
ments of wood, the effect being wonderfully 
good, giving as it does the conventional profile 
of the needed Corinthian capitals. 

The main entrance overlooks the river, down 
to which sweeps the vast lawn. Here and there 
are informal beds of old-fashioned blossoms, 
while giant trees planted with but little precision 
break the monotony of the greensward. The 
mansion itself is almost hidden by trees, many of 
foreign importation, a peculiarly striking fact 
being that Brandon has more and choicer foreign 

152 



BRANDON 



trees and shrubs than any other of the old 
country-seats. 

JMarvellous box hedges that reach a height of 
four feet grow close to the house on the north 
side, the same compact shrub bordering the gar- 
den walks, interlined with chains of golden cow- 
slips or fringes of daffodils. Broken trees are 
garlanded with woodbine and j^ellow jessamine, 
while delicate vines of graceful wistaria festoon 
brick wall and slender trellis. The purple of 
royal iris vies with the scarlet of springtime 
tulips, and from April till December both beds 
and borders show a sequence of brilliant bloom. 

The broad, grassy walks of English appear- 
ance are between lilac and althea hedges, some of 
which lead direct to the river bank, and all of 
which were laid off by Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. 
The beautiful grove of magnolias, yews, and 
sycamores, with its natural ferns and bracken, is 
also a bit of charming landscape gardening by 
the same fair chatelaine. 

The rear pleasaunce is canopied with dogwood 
borrowed from the native forests, the same snow- 
petalled shrubbery bordering a three-mile vista 
cleft through the park, one of the prides of the 
old plantation. 

In the graveyard to the west, the oldest tombs 

153 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

are those of Benjamin Harrison 2nd and his wife, 
Hannah, and Nathaniel Harrison 2nd. There 
are graves of many others who have passed out 
of sight, but whose nobihty hves, and the ghostly 
procession of those whom the world delighted to 
honor will be irrevocably woven with the history 
of the nation. 

A bit farther away from the mansion is the 
old block-house used as a refuge from the In- 
dians in the early days of the estate. The crude 
brick structure is overshadowed by hickory and 
walnut trees, and through the little gun-holes 
peeping out of the staunch walls many a redskin 
met his end. 

The interior of the manor-house displays true 
Colonial lines, and the panelled hall, with its 
triple arches upheld by Ionic columns, is a tri- 
umph of architecture. The hall is the principal 
living-room, being well stocked with book- 
shelves, quaint old chairs, and dignified portraits 
of two centuries ago. 

On the right of the rear entrance is the dining- 
room, where buffets with treasures of rare Shef- 
field and silver plate grace either side. The vases 
which decorate the marble mantel were used at 
the Lafayette banquet in Richmond in 1824, and 
on the richly panelled walls hang a wealth of 

154 




FAN CARRIED BY EVELYN' UYRl) 
when she was presented at the Court of St. James 




THE HALL AT BRANDON 



BRANDON 



famous portraits. Over the mantel is Benjamin 
West's likeness of Governor Alston, and near 
him hangs the serious face of Benjamin Frank- 
lin, in contrast to the gorgeous Duke of Argyll, 
known to all as the friend of Jeanie Deans. The 
rest of this gallery of noble men and beautiful 
women are catalogued as Colonel William Byrd, 
his sister-in-law. Miss Taylor, the Duke of 
Albemarle, and Speaker Waltho, whose broad- 
brimmed hat plays a conspicuous part in the 
painting, and who said to Colonel Byrd: " Set 
me among your dukes and earls with my hat on 
my head, to signify that I am a true Republican 
who will uncover to none of them, and I will give 
you the finest diamond ring to be bought in 
America." The whimsical face hangs still over 
the doorway, while the diamond ring is preserved 
among the Brandon treasures. The other por- 
traits are registered as Sir Robert Walpole, Mr. 
Randall, and Anne Randolph Harrison. 

In the drawing-room opposite, the Chippen- 
dale chairs are of particular note, and here is 
shown the most prized heirloom, the fan carried 
by Evelyn Byrd when she was presented at the 
Court of St. James. It is faded and yellow 
with age now, the pastoral scene has sunk into 
the kid, but it once hid the girlish blushes of the 

155 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

old-time beauty, and we touch it with reverence, 
remembering the momentous day when it was 
first held in her hand. 

StiU another treasure is the Communion 
Service presented to Martin's Brandon Church 
by John Westhrope, about 1659. 

The choicest portraits of the Brandon collec- 
tion — which outnumbers any other private gal- 
lery in the country — hang in the drawing-room, 
upon the south wall of which, from left to right, 
are first Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, she who 
planted the hedges and grove; Lady Betty Clay- 
pole, only daughter of Oliver Cromwell; Gov- 
ernor Parke, from the brush of Godfrey Kneller; 
and Evelyn Byrd, by the same artist, who has 
represented the beauty in a simple satin gown 
without even so much as a touch of lace. One 
loose, dark curl falls over her right shoulder, and 
her hands have fallen gracefully from their 
gentle task of wreathing old-fashioned blossoms 
about her shepherdess hat. Gleaming from the 
foliage back of her is a cardinal-bird, a playful 
allusion of the artist to her name. The next 
portrait is of Lord Halifax, dated 1661, while 
over the mantel is the handsome face of Sir 
Charles Wager. The rest are of Earl Egre- 
mont. Earl Orrery, and Sir Robert Southwell, 

156 



BRANDON 



1661. The last are of Mrs. Evelyn Byrd Harri- 
son, Mr. Fitzhugh, Benjamin Harrison, and 
George Evelyn Harrison, a goodly if a ghostly 
company, boasting Sir Peter Lely, Charles Wil- 
son Peale, and other famous masters. 

The manor-house was in its early days when 
Benedict Arnold entered the James and, landing 
here, destroyed everything that came in the path 
of his lawless troops. The English also under 
General Phillips bivouacked here. Again in 1864 
the horrors of war fell upon the rich plantation, 
and but for the mansion not a building with- 
stood the fires of a fearful siege. Portraits too 
hea\y to move when the family with most of their 
goods and chattels took refuge in Richmond were 
cut from the handsome frames. The panelling 
and wainscoting were torn from some of the inner 
walls of the house. The outer blinds were 
hacked and riddled, and the poor pineapple, 
symbol of hospitality, which is set upon the ex- 
treme top of the roof, was the mark of soldiers, 
whose bullets in aiming at it battered and shat- 
tered the bricks of the mansion into holes that 
may still be seen. 

But the ravages of war passed many years 
ago, and to-day the broad acres show peace and 
plenty on every side. Every foot of the estate 

157 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

has its story ; each grassy walk and garden square 
teem with reverent associations which belong 
to a family of which the entire country has the 
right to feel supremely proud. 

When Colonel Nathaniel Harrison died, in 
1791, he was succeeded in his office and estate by 
his son Benjamin, the third of the name, who 
married Anne Randolph in 1738. After her 
death he married Evelyn Taylor, daughter of 
Colonel William Byrd of Westover by his third 
wife. Their son, George Evelyn Harrison, born 
in 1797, married Isabella H., daughter of 
Thomas Ritchie of Richmond, in 1828, and their 
son fell heir to the beautiful homestead, which 
to-day remains in the possession of the family. 

A deeply appreciated fact is that the old estate 
has not once left the direct line, and though it 
may show the scars of war and the waste of years, 
Brandon is, as it has always been, the stately 
home of a stately race, whose history shows not 
the faintest blot upon a fair escutcheon. 



SHERWOOD FOREST 




HE community which 
produced such men as 
William Henry Har- 
rison and John Tyler, 
not to speak of the 
host of others whose 
names are written 
bravely in the book of 
history, was truly remarkable, for neither acci- 
dent nor volition is responsible for distinguished 
men; they are simply the natural outcome of 
the conditions under which they live. These con- 
ditions were and still are marked in Sherwood 
Forest, the estate that has M^on renown as the 
last home of President Tyler, and where to-day 
may be seen the striking and perhaps the best 
features of the life of the Colonial Cavalier. 

This plantation came into being as Walnut 
Grove in the eighteenth century, the lands being 
first owned by the Minges, a family of note in the 
James River section of Virginia, who retained 
them until 1841, w^hen they were sold by Collier 
Minge to President Tyler. 

159 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

The first of the Tylers in Virginia was Henry, 
who emigrated from Shropshire, England, and 
took up lands in the Middle Plantation (Wil- 
liamsburg) in 1652. The origin and position of 
the family in England is the subject of the fol- 
lowing letter, written by President Tyler to the 
Reverend WilHam Tyler: 

"Your acceptable letter of the 11th Oct. 
reached me in due course of mail, and I regret 
I can make no suitable return for the information 
with which you have furnished me relative to the 
origin of our name and race. I say our race, 
because I do not doubt that all who bear the 
name of Tyler have a common origin. I think it 
probable that the first of the name who settled in 
England was of Norman origin, and accompanied 
the Conqueror in his invasion, and may have 
assisted him to overthrow the Saxon power, which 
went down with the banner of Harold and with 
Harold himself. If he did so, it was a scurvy 
trick in him, and I, one of his remote descendants, 
feel no great veneration for his memory on that 
account. Be that as it may, it is certain that the 
family have obeyed the great command to be 
fruitful, since their numbers in Great Britain and 
in the United States are quite great, and are still 
upon the increase. To all the genealogy, other 

160 



SHERWOOD FOREST 



than that of my American ancestors, I have rarely- 
given a thought, since it seemed to me to be a 
Cretan labyrinth, which would lead to endless 
confusion and perplexity. On the page of his- 
tory I found one name of the family high en- 
rolled. He was a blacksmith, and lived at a time 
when royalty and its satellites trampled upon the 
necks of the commons and ground the people into 
dust. He, with others of his fellow subjects, 
long submitted to the inflictions of tyranny in 
silence; but the last drop of patience was in the 
cup. That was exhausted when Richard the 
Second imposed a poll-tax (the most unjust and 
unequal that can be imposed, since it operates per 
capita and without regard to property), in the 
collection of which the infamous tax-gatherer 
dared to offer a revolting insult to his youthful 
daughter. With his sledge-hammer he laid the 
insulting minion of power dead at his feet, 
and summoned the commons to the task of 
vindicating their rights. And glorious was the 
vindication! The satraps of the King were 
overthrown in battle, and the King was com- 
pelled to sue in person to the blacksmith for 
terms. Faithful to the trust imposed in him by 
the commons, he boldly, in an interview asked for 
by the King, proclaimed the public wrongs and 

11 161 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

demanded redress. He confided in the honor of 
a King, and went unattended to the interview, 
and was perfidiously slain. But ' the blood of 
the martyr was the seed of the church ; ' and so it 
was here. That dastard King was constrained 
to reiterate the principles of Magna Charta and 
to proclaim the doctrines of the Bill of Rights, 
and Wat le Tyler takes his position on the his- 
toric pages alongside of the great benefactors 
of the Anglo-Saxon race. This man I have been 
content to recognize as the head of my immediate 
family, and have therefore looked upon most that 
the royalist writers have said of him as properly 
a part of their vocation, which is to defame the 
plebeian and to do worship to the monarch and 
aristocrat. Oh, no, my dear sir, I cannot sur- 
render an origin so glorious to the accomplished 
king-lover Hume, or to him of Sudbury. The 
error of Dickens, an error into which others have 
fallen, consists in the substitution of an a for a le, 
viz. : Wat a tiler for Wat le Tyler, as the name 
stood in 1311 in the case of Thomas le Tyler." 
The first wife of Henry Tyler, the Immigrant, 

was Mary , and the second Ann Orchard, 

she being the mother of Henry, the second of 
the name, who was a very prominent factor in 
the Colony. Besides holding many important 

162 



SHERWOOD FOREST 



offices, the second Heniy Tyler took an active 
part in religious affairs ; he it was who headed the 
petition circulated in 1710 for a new church, and 
undoubtedly his untiring interest and efforts 
were largely responsible for the erection of 
famous Bruton Church, which now stands at 
Williamsburg on the site of an older edifice. He 
was also the donor or seller of the land upon 
which the Governor's palace stood, and though 
the building has long since disappeared, the spot 
is still pointed out as the Palace Green. 

Henry Tyler is supposed to have married 
Elizabeth Chiles, granddaughter of Governor 
John Page, who was the mother of all his chil- 
dren, though he afterwards married Edith 
Hardaway. His eldest son, John, married 
Elizabeth Low, and died a few years before he 
did, leaving five children, among whom John, the 
third of the name, was the principal heir. The 
latter, known as the Marshal, married Anne, 
daughter of Dr. Louis Contesse, a French 
Huguenot, and died August 26, 1773. His sis- 
ter was the famed Joanna Tyler, justly consid- 
ered " the handsomest woman in the Colony of 
Virginia," which fact is easily appreciated by one 
glance at the superb portrait now in the posses- 
sion of one of her descendants. 

163 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

John Tyler, the second son of the Marshal and 
Anne Contesse, was one of the foremost men of 
an important era, beginning his public career as 
Judge of the Admiralty Court in 1776. From 
that time on he was successively a member of the 
House of Delegates and of the Council, Vice- 
President of the Virginia Convention, Judge of 
the General Court, Governor of Virginia, and 
Judge of the United States Court. To his 
accurate and remarkable memory is credited the 
preservation of Patrick Henry's famous words, 
which Governor Tyler repeated to William Wirt : 
" ' Cffisar had his Brutus, Charles the First his 
Cromwell, and George the Third ' — ( ' Treason,' 
cried the Speaker; ' Treason, treason,' echoed 
from every part of the House) — ' may profit by 
their example. If this be treason, make the most 
of it.' " 

Having been born on February 28, 1747, 
Governor Tyler married in 1776, when she was 
but sixteen, Mary, daughter of Robert Armistead 
of Elizabeth City County, and was the renowned 
father of a celebrated son, John Tyler, tenth 
President of the United States. 

President Tyler was born at Greenway, his 
father's country-seat, March 29, 1790, and 
married March 29, 1813, Letitia, daughter of 

164 



SHERWOOD FOREST 



Robert Christian, of New Kent County. In 1816 
he became a member of Congress; in 1825 was 
made Governor of Virginia; in 1827 was elected 
to the United States Senate; was made Vice- 
President in 1840, and became President April 4, 
1841. 

Though he changed his residence more than 
once during these j^ears, it was at Sherwood 
Forest that he finally cast anchor, spending the 
remainder of his life on this plantation, acquired 
in 1841. An interesting glimpse into the happy 
domesticity he enjoyed on the old estate is given 
in a letter written from there on Christmas Day, 
1855: 

"If j'ou are half as merry as we are, then you 
are all as merry as I could wish you to be. It is 
on the morning of Christmas that one realizes 
the happiness of having a house well filled with 
children. All the barrels and boxes sent by the 
Roanoke reached us at four o'clock on yesterday, 
and the hobby-horse, coming unboxed, caught 
the eager eyes of the children. Time was 
scarcely given the wagon to reach the door before 
it had been seized upon, and, with the assistance 
of Andrew, was placed in the dining-room, and 
mounted in succession by each, Lachlan, of 
course, having the first ride, as the horse was his. 

165 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Their anxiety to see the contents of the boxes 
became intense, but was only partially gratified. 
Julia's doll was roused up from its repose, and 
was in a short time opening and shutting its eyes 
amid constant exclamations of surprise. Then 
came a strong desire on the part of us all to see 
your contributions to the Fair. The room was 
crowded with an anxious group, and upon the 
opening of boxes containing the needle-cases and 
pin-cushions, all united in expressions of admira- 
tion. The doll was only so far uncased as to 
exhibit her face and feet and a portion of the 
dress, and Mrs. Beckman's taste and skill were 
pronounced to be unmatchable. Julia will follow 
your instructions in regard to the display and 
disposition of the articles, and thinks of dispos- 
ing of the doll by raffle if auction does not 
succeed. 

" The children last night hurried to bed at an 
early hour, in order to sleep away the tedious 
hours which were to elapse before the dawning of 
day; but I went into Gardie and Alex.'s room at 
near eleven o'clock, and sleep had not visited their 
eyes. They were watching for Santa Claus, and 
complained of his tardiness. Being told that 
Santa Claus objected to being seen, and did not 

166 



SHERWOOD FOREST 



like boys to watch for him, they finally went to 
sleep; but the day had not fairly dawned when 
their exclamations filled the whole house. 

" Having dispatched the sweet things, they 
then opened their toy boxes. Gardiner is still 
(eleven o'clock) carrying on the siege of Sebas- 
topol ; Alex, is busily engaged with ' Whittington 
and his Cat ; ' Julia arranges her furniture ; 
Lachlan spurs up his horse; and Lionel (last, 
though not least) calls for his drummer. A 
happier concern you rarely ever saw. I only 
wash that all of you were here to look upon the 
scene. 

" Julia was so very much fatigued yesterday 
as to devolve on me the task of writing. The 
Fair comes off to-morrow, and she will give you 
a full account of it. Governor Floyd and his 
lady have not reached us, and I suppose will not. 
We have had bad weather, and the mist is still 
excessively dense." 

The central portion of the simple, rambling 
manor-house at Sherwood Forest was built by 
the Minges in the latter part of 1700. The wings 
and corridors were added by President Tyler 
about 1844, thus giving the mansion an extrava- 
gant frontage of three hundred feet. The main 

16T 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

dwelling is two and a half stories, the remainder 
one, and one and a half, while the entire house 
is but the depth of one room. A wide Colonial 
hall runs from door to door of the double- fronted 
mansion, and on the right of the land entrance is 
the library, where the old-fashioned furniture 
and family portraits breathe into the present a 
delightful air of the past. Healy's likeness of 
the President is the most conspicuous object in 
the room, representing him in an attentive, lis- 
tening mood. His right elbow rests upon a large 
book of laws, and his hand lends support to his 
slightly tilted head. The high white collar and 
black stock bespeak the age of the accompanying 
loosely cut coat, but the pin adorning the white 
shirt-front is a trifle out of the ordinary. Hang- 
ing near by is a life-sized portrait of the second 
Mrs. Tyler at the age of eighteen, who was the 
daughter of the Honorable David Gardiner of 
New York, one of the victims of the Princeton 
calamity. The portrait, painted by Giovanni 
Thompson, depicts a saucy-faced maid with great 
blue eyes. Her dark hair, which is brought down 
over her ears, is braided about the crown of her 
head, being held in place by a bandeau of ex- 
quisite pearls. Quaint ear-drops and a necklace 

168 



SHERWOOD FOREST 



of the same pure jewels are iii perfect accord 
with the diaphanous gauze gown, the sleeves of 
which are caught below the shoulders with 
rosettes of white satin. 

Mrs. Tyler was spoken of as *' a woman of 
elegance, refinement, education, and strong char- 
acter," as well as being exceedingly handsome, 
with an extraordinary retention of her youthful 
appearance. Fanelli's portrait of her as a bride 
hangs in the White House, where also may be 
seen that of sweet-faced Mrs. Letitia Christian 
Tyler, the President's first wife. 

In the old days the library at Sherwood Forest 
was used as a ball-room, and many and gay were 
the scenes enacted there. Across the hall is the 
dining-room, from which a spiral stairway 
ascends to the upper floor. Though the simple 
white frame mansion is not so imposing as some 
of the old homesteads in the James River section, 
the air of hospitality and homelike comfort lends 
to Sherwood Forest a charm never attained by 
cold structural magnificence. And being near 
Williamsburg, fancy easily pictures the many 
and noble men and women who in the early age 
proved the hospitality of its walls, for here were 
wont to gather Presidents, Governors, Chief- 

169 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Justices, Cabinet Officers, signers of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, and the like. 

The manor-house is placed a mile from James 
River, down to which the meadows of the 1200 
acre estate roll. The far-reaching lawn is shaded 
with mammoth oak-trees, and the old garden is 
still glorious with the beauty and fragrance of 
moss and damask roses. Sweet tendrils of 
honeysuckle caress one at every turn, and holly- 
hocks, lilacs, and other old-time blossoms smile 
from everywhere. Along the richly wooded 
roadways wild roses, Scott's cherished eglantine, 
bloom in pink luxuriance, and even before the 
first trees have budded, the trailing arbutus, that 
bravely dainty patriot's flower, creeps shyly from 
under the carpet of rushes that guards it from 
the snow. 

Many and romantic associations cling and 
cluster about the old estate, now in the possession 
of the President's son, Judge David Gardiner 
Tyler. One cannot spend an hour amid these 
surroundings without feeling that he has reached 
a higher plane and breathed a purer air, for 
Sherwood Forest seems far away from the pres- 
ent, and a realistic bit of the past. The atmos- 
phere is refreshing and stimulating, and the con- 
trast between yesterday and to-day is marked. 

170 



SHERWOOD FOREST 



In its first days tlie estate was one of the centres 
of the social fife of Virginia, and but for a few 
war-swept j^ears has always been. At the home- 
like manor-house sorrow has struck its blows, but 
the wounds have now almost healed. Not even a 
scorch of the wars is visible, but in its place is a 
grateful, quiet serenity worshipped by those who 
have lived there and envied by the less favored 
who can only see. 



CARTER'S GROVE 




p MONG the numerous 
lands patented by 
King Carter was a 
tract on the north 
shore of James River, 
near its outlet to the 
Chesapeake. In 1634 
a palisade was built 
around a portion of these lands, which were used 
as a cattle and corn reservation, being closely 
and constantly guarded from the Indians, who 
at that time were causing great trouble. 

This plantation, which was a part of Martin's 
Hundred parish, established in 1618, was given 
by King Carter to his daughter Elizabeth as her 
dower when she married Nathaniel Burwell, of 
Gloucester County. 

The distinguished family of Burwells were 
well known in Bedford and Northampton, Eng- 
land, the first of the name, Lewis Burwell, having 
come to Virginia about 1640. An old deed in 
York County, dated July 28, 1648, conveys a 
number of acres from Dorothy, daughter of 

172 



CARTER'S GROVE 



William Bedell of County Huntingdon, Eng- 
land, and widow of Roger Wingate, Treasurer 
of Virginia, to Lewis Burwell, her son by her 
first marriage to Edward Burwell of Harling- 
ton, Bedford County. This Edward Burwell 
seems to have been a grantee under the charter of 
1607 from James I., and is also thought to have 
been the one whose name appears in the second 
charter to the Virginia Company, given May 30, 
1609. 

Lewis Burwell, the Immigrant, was born 
March 5, 1625, and married Lucy, daughter of 
Captain Higginson, one of the most renowned 
Colonial commanders during the crusade against 
the redskins. IVIajor Burwell settled at Fairfield, 
now known as Carter's Creek, Gloucester 
County, and there still may be seen his tomb, 
inscribed : 

" To the lasting memory of Major Lewis 
Burwell, of the County of Gloucester in Virginia, 
gentleman, who descended from the ancient 
family of the Burwells, of the counties of Bed- 
ford and Northampton, in England, who, noth- 
ing more worthy in his birth than virtuous in his 
life, exchanged this life for a better, on the 19th., 
day of November, in the 33rd year of his age, 
A. D. 1658. " 

173 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Lewis Burwell, the only son of the Immigrant, 
married first Abigail Smith, the niece and heiress 
of Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., for whom their third 
son, Nathaniel, born about 1682, was named. 
Through this marriage the Virginia Burwells 
trace their descent from eleven English Kings, 
including Alfred the Great, while through the 
same source they are connected with the Kings of 
Burgundy and Navarre as well as the Dukes of 
Gascony. 

According to the old tombs at Carter's Creek, 
Lewis Burwell married secondly Martha, daugh- 
ter of John Lear, Secretary of the Council, and 
widow of Colonel William Cole, who died in 
1705, and was evidently the mother of the Miss 
Burwell who won the peppery heart of Governor 
Nicholson, the story of which has come to us from 
the apt pen of Bishop Meade : 

" The second Lewis Burwell had nine daugh- 
ters, one of whom completely upset what little 
reason there was in Governor Nicholson of 
famous memory. He became most passionately 
attached to her, and demanded her in royal style 
of her parents. Neither she, her parents, nor 
other members of the family were disposed to 
compliance. He became furious, and for years 
persisted in his design and claim. All around 

174 



CARTER'S GROVE 



felt the effects of it. The father and sons, Com- 
missary Blair, and the Rev. ]Mr. Fouace, min- 
ister of an adjoining parish, were the special 
objects of his threatened vengeance. 

" To the young lady he threatened the life of 
her father and brothers if she did not yield to his 
suit, which caused a friend in England to write a 
letter of remonstrance, in which he says, ' It is 
not here as in some barbarous countries, where the 
tender lady is dragged into the Sultan's arms just 
reeking in the blood of her nearest relatives, and 
yet must strangely dissemble her aversion.' To 
Commissary Blair he declared that he would cut 
the throats of three men, (if the lady should 
marry any other man than himself,) viz.: the 
bridegroom, the minister, and the justice who 
issued the license. The minister of the parish, 
the Rev. Mr. Fouace, in a letter to the Lord 
Commissioners in England, complains of being 
assaulted one evening, on his return from a visit 
to the family, (the Major being sick), by Gov- 
ernor Nicholson, and commanded never again to 
go into this house without leave from himself. 
It seemed that the Governor was jealous of him. 
Besides abusive language and other indignities, 
he pulled off the minister's hat, as being disre- 
spectful to him, the Governor, for one to keep 

175 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

on his hat, even on horseback. Such was the 
misconduct of the Governor, in this and other 
respects, that the Council and some of the clergy 
united in a petition to the Crown for his removal, 
and the petition was granted. All this and much 
more, is on record in the archives of Lambeth 
Palace." 

After Nathaniel Burwell married Elizabeth 
Carter, he moved to Carter's Grove, where he 
died in 1721. The estate was then inherited by 
his son Lewis, born in 1710, who married Mary, 
daughter of Colonel Francis Willis. Up to the 
time of his death in 1772 Lewis Burwell was very 
prominent in the affairs of the Colony, having 
been both President of the Council and acting 
Governor of Virginia. 

The plantation next went to his son. Carter 
Burwell, who married Lucy, daughter of the 
Honorable John Grymes of Middlesex County, 
and it was under their stewardship that the orig- 
inal dwelling was replaced by the present stately 
manor-house in 1746, some years before the death 
of his father. 

The road which winds from the main highway, 
over which so many Colonial notables rolled in 
their gilded coaches on their frequent visits to 
the mansion, is mostly through woodlands 

176 



CARTER'S GRO\^ 



whitened in April by dogwood and sheeted with 
arbutus, violets, and frail anemones, while the 
gorgeous yellow jessamine, that first flower of 
the South, flings its golden streamers from limb 
to limb of the smallest shrubs and greatest trees. 
One is in the midst of a riot of sweet-scented 
color, which fades only when the lawn is reached. 
Crossing a picturesque ravine, the broad drive- 
way merges into an avenue about one quarter of 
a mile in length, bordered by cedars of mag- 
nificent growth which spring from the thick 
turfing. Just before the grounds are entered 
the cedar avenue gives place to one of locusts, 
which continues through a wonderful grove of 
the same graceful trees to the circular stone steps 
on the north front. 

The substantial brick dwelling is situated di- 
rectly on the James, upon a high bluff, and 
commands a very beautiful water view, the river 
here being seven miles across. The lawn is ter- 
raced on the water front, ending in a sunken 
garden which extends quite to the beautiful 
beach. 

The manor-house is set in the midst of a grove 
of notable trees, which named the place, and 
though the wings did not originally adjoin the 
main building, the east, used as a kitchen, has 

12 177 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

since been connected with it, the west serving the 
purpose of office. 

Crossing the steps now mossy with age, the 
hall is entered, where the touch of latter-day 
gold evident about the estate is appreciated 
rather than censured, for the historic marks have 
been carefully preserved, notwithstanding the 
luxurious additions that have been made. This 
great hall is heavily panelled with walnut, and 
claims a stairway of the same wood which is 
famous in the historic and architectural annals of 
America. The hand-carved balustrade still shows 
the scars left by the swords of Tarleton's hasty 
troopers when the mansion was British head- 
quarters during the Revolution, and up the broad 
steps the reckless soldiers are said to have even 
ridden. Under the stewardship of a former 
owner, in a burst of mistaken patriotism, the 
handsome wood-work of the hall was painted the 
national colors, and until a few years ago the 
mellow tones of the old walnut were lost under 
the glaring coating of red, white, and blue. 

The dominant feature of the interior is the ex- 
quisite wood-work, all the rooms being panelled 
up to the ceiling with oak and walnut, while the 
heavy doors of solid mahogany swing upon silver 

178 



z > 







CARTER'S GROVE 



hinges, their knobs and locks being of the same 
precious metal. 

The old kitchen in the east wing measures 
forty-two by twenty -three feet, and boasts light 
from ten large windows. Hard wood beams 
and rafters support the cement walls, and 
though modern comforts and conveniences have 
supplanted antique methods, there is still left 
enough to show the quaint kitchen of Colonial 
days. 

For more than a century veritable princes 
reigned in this stately manor-house, dispensing a 
lavish hospitality that has formed the theme of 
many fantastic stories and much historic lore. 
Here in Virginia was born the social life of the 
new-found world. Williamsburg with its balls 
and festivities was but a transplanted bit of the 
Court of St. James, just as old Bruton Church 
and graveyard were to the Colonists a miniature 
Westminster Abbey. The romantic atmosphere 
which pervades the mansion conjures up vividly 
an imaginary picture of the red-coated Tarleton 
and his troops lawlessly dashing down the wind- 
ing stairway to the tune of cruel sabre cuts. 

It was at Carter's Grove that Jefferson wooed 
the " fair Belinda," Rebecca Burwell, born in 

179 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

1746, and here the haughty maiden, who after- 
^/ wards married Jaquehn Ambler, rejected her 
sandj'^-haired suitor, who later taught two coun- 
tries what one man's brain could do. It was 
during this memorable courtship that Jefferson 
wrote to his friend, John Page: "' In the most 
melancholy fit that ever any poor soul was, I sit 
down to write to you. Last night, as merry as 
agreeable company and dancing with Belinda in 
the Apollo could make me, I never could have 
thought that the succeeding sun would have seen 
me so wretched as I now am ! I was prepared to 
say a great deal. I had dressed up in my own 
mind such thoughts as occurred to me in as mov- 
ing language as I knew how, and expected to 
have performed in a tolerably creditable manner. 
But, good God! When I had an opportunity 
of venting them, a few broken sentences, uttered 
in great disorder, and interrupted with pauses 
of uncommon length, were the two visible marks 
of my strange confusion." 

It was the daughter of Rebecca Burwell and 
Jaquelin Ambler who married Chief-Justice 
^ Marshall. 

The few tombs still visible at Carter's Grove 
are much scarred and defaced by time, and 
though there are records existing of those buried 

180 



CARTER'S GROVE 



there, one can now decipher neither names nor 
epitaphs. 

When Carter Burwell died, at the close of the 
century, the homestead passed to his son Na- 
thaniel, who married his first cousin, Susanna 
Grymes, of Middlesex. Their son Carter, born 
in 1773, owned the estate until 1819, when it 
became the property of his half-brother, George 
Harrison Burwell, the son of Nathaniel Burwell 
by his second wife, Lucy Page, daughter of Lucy 
Page Baylor, widow of Colonel George Baylor 
and daughter of Mann Page of Mansfield. 

George Burwell was the last of his name to 
o^vn Carter's Grove, which was sold only to 
change hands many times. Unfortunately the 
records of these various sales were destroyed 
when the old Court House in Williamsburg was 
damaged by fire, so the thread of ownership ,can- 
not be again picked up until about thirty years 
ago, M^hen the estate was bought by Dr. E. G. 
Booth, in whose possession it remained until 
1905, when it was purchased by Mr. Percival 
Bisland, of Mississippi, Mrs. Margaret Buchan 
Bisland being the present owner. 

History in general repeats itself, but never 
again will America know such halcyon days as 
those of the Colonists, when the plantations were 



181 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

little kingdoms ruled over by haughty grandees, 
who were veritable princes in their rights and 
fortunes. 

Carter's Grove seems very far away from the 
present, a bit or a glimpse of the past ; for as year 
follows year, and century climbs over century, its 
peaceful atmosphere of age and comfort gains in 
vivid contrast to this restless, struggling to-day. 



THE NELSON HOUSE 




r^ N a little corner of 
Virginia, on the south- 
west bank of old York 
River, lies a sleepy 
town of age and his- 
tory called Yorktown, 
where an ancient 
Church, a battle-field, 
the country's first custom-house, and an aristo- 
cratic old mansion are all that is left to tell the 
story of its quondam days of glory. 

The old mansion, known as the Nelson House, 
is the first of these historic sights to greet one, 
situated as it is on the main street, or, better still, 
highroad, overlooking the river, and guarded by 
a mossy brick wall topped with a giant hedge of 
box. 

The progenitor of the Virginia family of Nel- 
sons was Thomas, the son of Hugh and Sarah 
Nelson of Penrith, England, where he was born 
February 20, 1677. Owing to the proximity of 
his birthplace to Scotland, Thomas Nelson, who 
came to Virginia about 1700, was always called 

183 



V 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

" Scotch Tom." Settling in York County, he 
married about 1710 Margaret Reid, and on her 
death contracted a second aUiance with Fanny- 
Houston, the widow of a Mr. Tucker of Ber- 
muda, in 1721. His name has always been 
closely affiliated with Yorktown, which place he 
founded about 1705, building the first brick 
house in that section in 1715. 

Thomas Nelson, the Immigrant, died October 
7, 1745, and was buried in old Grace Church 
graveyard, where his tomb, with his coat of arms 
inscribed upon it, may still be seen. The Latin 
epitaph is translated as: 

" Here lyeth 

In the certain hope of being raised up in Christ 

Thomas Nelson, Gentleman 

The son of Hugh and Sarah Nelson 

of Penrith in the County of Cumberland. 

Born the 20th day of February 1677 

He completed a well spent life 

On the 7th of October 1745 in his sixty-eighth year." 

The eldest son of Thomas and Margaret Reid 
Nelson was William, born in 1711, who was 
known as President Nelson, having been many 
times President of the Council, and of the entire 
Colony of Virginia at one time. In 1738 he 
married Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel Bur- 

184 




WII.IJAM NELSON 




THE NELSON HOUSE 



well of Gloucester County, granddaughter of 
King Carter, and it was in 1740 that he began 
the erection of the present famous Nelson House. 

This mansion was designed for his eldest son 
Thomas, who, born December 26, 1738, and then 
but a few years old, laid the corner-stone of the 
building by passing through his tiny hands the 
first brick used in its construction. The Nelson 
House stands to-day a splendid example of the 
Colonial builder's art, which cared more for 
honest workmanship than meretricious display. 
The English bricks forming the walls are laid in 
Flemish bond, while the quoins and window- 
arches are of heavy hewn stone. Hand-made 
dentilled cornices, which are placed just below 
the high, sloping roof, save the structure from 
absolute severity, and the condition of the entire 
house to-day attests its superior workmanship in 
every way. 

There is the customary great hall on the in- 
terior, with double rooms on either side, and the 
same ample stairway seen in most Southern 
houses of that era. There is still much hand- 
some wood-work visible in the panelling and 
wainscoting, some of which is elaborately carved, 
that in the hall and about the mantels being par- 
ticularly fine. 

185 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

The original brick wall which enclosed the 
grounds has given way in the rear to a modern 
unsightly paling, which is in part hidden or 
rendered unobtrusive by a multiflora rose-vine 
which clings to the newness as its mother root 
clasped the finer wall two centuries ago. There 
is nothing left of the old garden, though a few 
stray flowers still try to bloom gayly where the 
little squares and circles were, and crape-myrtle 
bushes that gain with the years soften time's 
wreckage with their feathery summer pinkness. 
The great tree, the branches of which droop over 
the east end of the mansion, was planted by a 
renowned Nelson in happy Colonial days. 

Thomas Nelson, the little lad who laid the 
corner-stone for the old mansion, developed into 
one of the most powerful men in Virginia, being 
a signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
Major-General in the Continental Army, and 
Governor of the state. On the twenty-ninth of 
January, 1762, he married Lucy, daughter of 
Philip and Mary Randolph Grymes of JMiddle- 
sex, the latter being the daughter of Sir John 
Randolph of Williamsburg. 

When barely twenty-one this remarkable man 
was made a member of the House of Burgesses, 
and in 1744 was one of the first convention which 

186 



-■ ^ 

>1 ~ 









1 




' 


1 


^^^^^^^^B^^^fi^ " '' '"^^Ai^^^^Ei 




! 
') 

y 

I 





THE NELSON HOUSE 



met at Williamsburg to consider the taxation 
of the Colonies by England. In 1774 he became 
colonel of the Second Virginia Regiment, and 
in May, 1776, was one of the members of the 
convention at Williamsburg for framing the Vir- 
ginia constitution. Having signed the Declara- 
tion of Independence in 1776, he was appointed 
Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia militia, and 
his troops, numbering three thousand, were 
equipped at his own expense. When Virginia 
needed $2,000,000 with which to carry on the 
war, Governor Nelson gave his personal property 
as security with that of the state. His services 
were highly commended in the General Orders 
issued by Washington the day after the surrender 
of Cornwallis, in honor of which his statue was 
included among the six placed around the Wash- 
ington monument in the Capitol grounds at 
Richmond. 

During the siege of Yorktown, in 1781, the 
Nelson House was occupied as headquarters by 
Lord Cornwallis, and this being as well known as 
it was distasteful to General Nelson, he besought 
the Continentals to open fire upon his loved 
mansion, offering a reward for each shot that 
told, and saying to General Lafayette: " Spare 
no particle of my property so long as it affords 

187 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

comfort or shelter to the enemies of my country." 
The eastern gable yet shows the scars of three 
cannon-balls, one of which is embedded in the 
bricks. Another left a great hole where it 
crashed through the southeast corner and, enter- 
ing the dining-room, destroyed two panels of the 
wainscoting, shattering at the same time the 
handsome marble mantel. 

Governor Nelson's father had left him a very 
large fortune, consisting as it did of much land 
and £40,000 cash, but the vicissitudes of the times 
caused him to die a poor man, his patriotism hav- 
ing given most of his money to the Colonial 
struggle. In this respect he has been compared 
with Washington, and we must admit that the 
American idol does not shine by it. One of his 
biographers writes: " Such nobility of soul and 
purity of motive form a combination in character 
rarely seen in the history of the world, and no 
doubt he was conscientious in the matter ; but yet 
how different from Washington! The latter, 
although he had no large :family to support, 
magnanimously refused any pay for his services, 
but merely asked Congress to reimburse him for 
his expenses, an accurate account of which he 
had kept. It is needless to say that Congress 
promptly paid him, having the detailed accounts, 

188 



THE NELSON HOUSE 



with dates specified, to be guided by. Had Gov- 
ernor Nelson kept an accurate account of his 
expenses, no doubt Congress would have gladly 
paid him back also. But it appears that he had 
no account to present to Congress. Conse- 
quently his family had to be that much poorer. 
One may, therefore, here see the difference be- 
tween a patriotic man and a patriotic man who 
was also wise! " 

The portrait of Governor Nelson which hangs 
in the State Library at Richmond is a copy of 
the original painted in London by Chamberlin in 
1754. It represents him at the age of sixteen, 
his ruddy, boyish face framed in a wealth of light 
hair. His gray coat with brass buttons has a 
rather deep gray velvet collar, and is worn over 
a white waistcoat, the sleeve-ruffles and stock be- 
ing white also. A black tricorn hat is held under 
his left arm, the hand of which is not visible in 
the half-length portrait. Altogether, neither the 
pose nor the costume is particularly lively for a 
youthful eighteenth century Cavalier. 

When Governor Nelson died, January 4, 1789, 
he was buried in Grace Church yard, without 
even a simple slab to mark his resting-place. 
Notwithstanding his early affluence, he left no 
fortune to his widow and children, who were 

189 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

forced to sell aE of their property but the home- 
stead in Yorktown; so when Mrs. Nelson, who 
was an extraordinary woman, died, she left only 
" twenty dollars to her minister, and freedom to 
her servant, the only one she had." 

In 1824, when General Lafayette visited 
Yorktown, the theatre of his youthful valor, the 
old house was tendered to the committee for his 
entertainment, and the mansion at which he had 
once directed his troopers to fire sheltered him as 
kindly as before the days of storm. 

During the Civil War, when the Confederates 
occupied Yorktown under General Magruder, 
the house was used as a hospital, and for reasons 
of health the wonderful interior wood-work was 
whitewashed ; and it has never been restored to its 
original condition, though the coloring has been 
changed. 

The happiest days seem to have passed from 
this beautiful homestead never to return again, 
for the conditions once so filled with promise are 
too sadly altered now to admit of the hospitable, 
joyous life that was once led upon this spot. 
Since the Revolution Yorktown has changed in 
many ways; the once thriving town has grown 
day by day into a quieter village. The gilded 
coaches and gold-laced soldiers that once stood 

190 



THE NELSON HOUSE 



before the open doors of the old Nelson House 
are now no more than the silent tombs sinking 
into eternity in the churchyard. 

But the beautiful river of a mile width opposite 
the mansion flows on serenely, regardless of 
years and circumstance, and the Nelson House 
still commands an enchanting picture at early 
sunrise, from its situation upon as noble a sheet 
of water as flows beneath the sun. " But painful 
is the contrast of what it now is with what it once 
was. It is only when we turn to the river, ' the 
work of an Almighty hand,' that the force of that 
Scripture is felt, — ' I change not.' " 



■J^l'-l 11, 



ROSEWELL 




N the north bank of old 
York River, and the 
east of Carter's Creek, 
looms the far-famed 
Rosewell mansion, pre- 
serving with dignity 
its centuries of grand- 
eur and strangely de- 
fying the years to come. 

This ancestral home of the renowned Page 
family stands like some feudal castle in bold 
relief against a landscape which artists have said 
lacks neither color nor form. 

About the year 1500 a Henry Page Tvas born 
in Wembly, in the county of ]\Iiddlesex, Eng- 
land. Whom he married we are not told, but one 
of his sons, John Page, born about 1528, is 
known to have married Audrey, the daughter of 
Thomas Redding of Hedgestown, Middlesex 
County. 

Of the two sons of the latter, Richard moved 
to Uxenden, and though he was twice married, 
the maiden names of his wives have long since 

192 



ROSEWELL 



been forgotten, Frances being the only one to 
leave children. One of these ten was Thomas, 
who was born at Uxenden about 1597, but moved 
to Sudbury. In 1622 he married, but again the 
wife's name is not given, for in the record we only 
ind that " John and Mary, sonne and daughter 
of Thomas Page, of Sudbury, were baptized at 
Harrow, 26 Dec, 1628." This John Page, who 
was destined to become the progenitor of the 
family in America, was born in 1627, and emi- 
grated to Virginia in 1650. 

The family of Sir Gregory Page, baronet, of 
.Greenwich, in the county of Kent, the father of 
Sir Gregory Page, last baronet of Wrinkle- 
marsh, who left his fortune to Sir Gregory Page 
Turner, and the families of Major-General Sir 
John Page and Sir Thomas Hyde Page bear 
much the same arms. Dr. Richard Channing 
Moore Page, in his valuable genealogy of the 
family, states: "The arms of all these Page 
families bear a resemblance to each other, and 
doubtless they were all descended from the same 
ancestor. The origin of the name of Page, as a 
family cognomen, may be found in Rymer's 
Foedera (Acts of the Kings of England) in 41st, 
Henry III., A. D. 1257, where it appears that 
Hugo de Pageham, of Ebor (York), was a 

13 193 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

bearer of dispatches from Edward, King of 
England, to the King of Spain, and thus being 
Letter Bearer^ or Page^ he became known as 
Hugo Page de Pageham." 

Colonel John Page, who came to Virginia in 
1650, married Alice Luckin and settled in Wil- 
liamsburg, where he was a member of Their 
Majesties' Council. That he was a man far 
above the average is shown in the following letter 
to his son, which is still preserved : 

" To My Loving Son, Capt. Matthew Page. 

" Son Matthew : I herewith present you a New 
Year's gift, wherein you may observe the excellency 
of Scripture learning, which I desire that you may 
read, mark, and learn, that you may embrace and ever 
hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life which 
God hath given you in the Gospel of our Saviour 
Jesus Christ. You will in this little book see what you 
are by nature — bom in sin, having in you an original 
pravity, indisposition to do good, and proneness to 
evil. There is also taught you that Christ by His 
death vanquished death, as Himself saith (John xi. 25), 
* I am the resurrection and the life : he that believeth 
in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.' There- 
fore endeavor that Christ's death may become effectual 
to your soul, that you may rise from the death of 

sin to the righteousness of life. Keep yourself from 

194 



ROSEWELL 



sin, and pray for God's spirit to establish faith and 
sanctification in your heart, that you may live in 
heavenly conversation on earth; that, after death, 
eternal glory may be your portion. Set not lightly by 
my gift, but esteem those fatherly instructions above 
earthly riches. Consider the dignity of your soul, and 
let no time shp whereby you may, with God's assistance, 
work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 
I pra}' God bless you and give liis blessing to what 
I have written, for your everlasting happiness, which 
is the prayer of your truly loving father, 

" John Page. 
"January 1st 1688." 

The little book to which the letter refers was a 
manuscript in the handwriting of Colonel Page, 
and though the fate of the original is not known, 
there are a number of printed copies still in exist- 
ence among the various branches of the family. 

The superb portrait of Colonel Page, which is 
familiar to all antiquarians, was painted by Sir 
Peter Lely in 1660. It is a very beautiful work 
of art, representing a young man in the where- 
abouts of thirty-three, with grave blue eyes and 
wavy brown locks parted directly in the middle. 
The dark robe he wears is enlivened with a white 
collar from which two white tassels depend. 

The original stone that was placed over the 

195 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

grave of Colonel Page is now in the vestibule of 
Bruton Church, at Williamsburg. On it the 
family arms are emblazoned — a fesse dancette 
between three martlets, a middle chief crescent. 
Crest — a demi-horse f orcene. Beneath the arms 
is the inscription : 

" Here lietli in hope of a Joyfull Resurrection 

the Body of Colonel John Page of Burtoil 

Parish Esquire. One of their Majesties 

Council in the Dominion of Virginia, Who 

departed this life the S3 of January in 

the year of our Lord 692. Aged 65." 

The date is partly obliterated, but is supposed to 
have been 1692. 

In 1878 a granite obelisk was placed over the 
grave by one of the descendants of Colonel Page. 

Matthew Page, the second son of John and 
Alice Luckin Page, was born in Williamsburg 
in 1659, but moved to Gloucester County, where 
he died January 9, 1703. His wife was Mary 
Mann, the heiress and daughter of John and 
Mary Mann of Timberneck, Gloucester County, 
and through her he came into possession of the 
Rosewell lands. This estate, which originally 
belonged to the Barbour family, was won by one 
of Mary Mann's relatives at a game of push-pin 
about the middle of the seventeenth century. In 

196 



ROSEWELL 



1700 jVIatthew Page took up his residence at this 
place, which a well-authenticated tradition claims 
to have been the site of Werowocomoco, the vil- 
lage of Powhatan. Whether this be true or not, 
Indian relics in great quantities have been found 
at Rosewell; which points to the belief that it 
might have been the headquarters of the Indian 
chieftain. 

On the death of Matthew Page the estate went 
to his only son, Mann Page, who, through his 
mother, inlierited vast possessions in Frederick, 
Prince William, Essex, Spottsylvania, James 
City, Hanover, King William, and Gloucester 
Counties, besides the 5000 acres left by his father. 

Among the ancestral portraits of the Page 
family there is one of a winsome child of five 
years, catalogued as Mann Page, the first of 
that name. The little fellow, with great brown 
eyes, holds closely in his arms a gay-plumaged 
cardinal-bird, the wings of which spread out 
against the quaint blue frock he wears. This 
little aristocrat, born with a golden spoon in his 
mouth, was brilliantly educated at Eton, and on 
his return to America began the erection of the 
great manor-house of Rosewell in 1725, the build- 
ing of which was destined to impair so sadly one 
of the largest fortunes of the day. 

197 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

The square brick structure, completed about 
1730, towers into the air three high stories above 
the basement, and was erected by workmen im- 
ported just for that purpose, much of the ma- 
terial also having been brought from Europe. 
Originally the central building was connected by 
covered corridors with wings on either side, the 
whole enclosing a semicircular courtyard. In 
proportion, the huge high-ceilinged rooms are 
cubes, and the great hall, which occupies the 
centre of the mansion, is a faultless specimen of 
Colonial architecture. In its days of extrava- 
gant pristine splendor the hall was wainscoted 
with San Domingo mahogany, the stairway and 
balustrade, which are as they were in 1730, being 
of the same wood hand-carved in a flower and 
scroll design. Up the steps of this grand stair- 
way eight persons can comfortably walk abreast, 
and it has responded to the click of many 
a beauty's high-heeled slipper, as well as to the 
tread of America's most eminent men. 

Owing to his prominence in all the higher 
branches of life, the friends of Mann Page were 
counted among the distinguished of two coun- 
tries, and the grim old walls of Rosewell have 
sheltered many whose names are written boldly 
in the history of the country. A favorite tradi- 
tion is that in this fine old mansion Thomas 

198 




KOSKWKI.I, 
lU'Kun by Mann Vixgi- in i7.>5 



ROSEWELL 



Jefferson, a guest there en route to Philadelphia, 
first drafted the immortal Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. 

Mann Page, the reckless spender of a princely- 
fortune, was a member of the Colonial Congress 
from 1714 to 1730. Marrying twice, his first 
wife was Judith Wormeley, daughter of the 
Honorable Ralph Wormeley, Secretary of the 
Colony in 1712. In 1718 he married Judith 
Carter, daughter of King Carter of Corotoman, 
President of the Colony, whose portrait shows a 
strong Carter likeness. Her lace-trimmed gown 
of blue-green satin shows to advantage against 
the red velvet of her chair, which has as a back- 
ground a rich curtain of the same material and 
color. 

In the old graveyard at Rosewell, on the tomb 
of Mann Page is inscribed: 

" Here lie the remains of the Honourable 

Mann Page 

One of His Majesties Council of this Colony 

of Virginia 

Who departed this life the g-ith Day of 

January 1730 

In the 40th year of his Age. 

He was the only Son of the Honourable 

Matthew Page Esq. 

Who was likewise a member of His Majesties 

Council. 

199 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

His first wife was Judith daughter of 

Ralph Wormeley Esq. 

Secretary of Virginia; 

By whom he had two Sons and a Daughter. 

He afterwards married Judith daughter of the 

Honble. Robert Carter Esq. 

With whom he lived in the most tender reciprocal 

affection 

For twelve years: 

Leaving by her five Sons and a Daughter. 

His publik Trust he faithfully Discharged 

with 

Candour and Discretion 

Truth and Justice. 

Nor was he less eminent in his Private Behaviour 

For He was 

A tender Husband and Indulgent Father 

A gentle Master and a faithful Friend 

Being to All 

Courteous and Benevolent Kind and Affable. 

This Monument was Piously erected to His 

Memory 

By His mournfully Surviving Lady." 

Mann Page 2nd, eldest son of the Honorable 
Mann Page, Esq., and Judith Carter, was born 
in 1718 at Rosewell, where he always lived. In 
1743 he married Alice Grymes, daughter of John 
Grymes of Middlesex, and their son was the 
celebrated Governor John Page. 

200 



ROSEWELL 



In 1777 Mann Page 2nd was a member of the 
Continental Congress, which is about all that is 
known of his public life, beyond the fact of his 
having declined the Council of Virginia in favor 
of a younger brother. That he bore a strong 
resemblance to his grandfather is evidenced in 
the handsome portrait credited to Sir Godfrey 
Kneller, in which he appears as a true Colonial 
grandee in all the glory of red velvet coat and 
long curling wig. The portrait of Alice Grj'^mes 
shows a slender, sweet-faced young woman in a 
pale-gray satin gown. Against her knee leans 
confidingly a little lad clad in crimson velvet, 
looking squarely into the world under the pro- 
tection of his mother's arm. Both of these por- 
traits, with others of the Page family, hang in 
the library of William and Mary College, at 
Williamsburg. His first wife dying in 1746, he 
married Anne Corbin Tayloe in 1748, she being 
the daughter of Colonel John Tayloe of Mount 
Airy. 

Mann Page 2nd, who came into life burdened 
with the debts incurred in the building of the 
Rosewell mansion, asked leave to sell oiF most of 
the contingent lands in order to let his sisters 
and brothers have their rightful inheritance. 

The homestead and a large tract of land he left 

SOI 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

to his son, John Page, who was born April 17, 
1744, and is known in history as the renowned 
Governor. The portrait done by Benjamin 
West in 1758 shows the embryo statesman as a 
sportsman at the age of fourteen, with flintlock 
musket and powder-horn. The snuff -colored 
small-clothes are fastened with silver buckles, 
which, with those on his shoes, add a note of 
dandyism. 

John Page, Jr., as he was called in contra- 
distinction to his uncle, John Page of North End, 
was with Washington in one of his expeditions 
against the Indians, and later was a member of 
the House of Burgesses. During the Revo- 
lution he contributed freely to the cause from his 
private purse, and even robbed the windows of 
Rosewell of their sash-weights, which he had 
made into bullets. He also rendered important 
services as Lieutenant-Governor of the Common- 
wealth and a member of the Committee of Public 
Safety. He was one of the first Representatives 
from Virginia in Congress, and was made a 
Presidential elector in 1800, being chosen Gov- 
ernor of Virginia in 1802. 

In 1789 John Page married Margaret Low- 
ther, daughter of William Lowther of Scotland, 
his first wife, Frances Burwell, having died a few 
years previously. 

303 




GOVERNOR JOHN PAGE 

at the age of 16 

From the painting by Benjamin West at William and Mary College 




ROSEWELL 



The following panegyric written shortly after 
his death in 1808 is an excellent summary of the 
life of this distinguished man : 

" Hon. John Page was, from his youth, a 
philosopher and a Christian. From the com- 
mencement of the American Revolution to the 
last hour of his life, he exhibited a firm, inflexible, 
unremitting, and ardent attachment to his coun- 
try, and rendered her very important services. 
His conduct was marked by uprightness in all the 
vicissitudes of life — in the prosperous and 
calamitous times through which he passed — in 
seasons of gladness and of affection. 

" He was not only the patriot soldier and 
politician, the well-read theologian and zealous 
churchman — so that some wished him to take 
orders with a view to being the first Bishop of 
Virginia — but he was a most affectionate domes- 
tic character." 

Rosewell, which was inherited by his son, John 
Page, was but little lived in after his death, and 
was sold in 1838 to Thomas Booth, of Gloucester 
County, w^ho paid but $12,000 for the historic 
plantation, which he sold a short while later to 
John Tabb Catlett, also of Gloucester County, 
for $22,500. When Rosewell became the prop- 
erty of Mr. Catlett, the mansion was in sad need 

203 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

of repair; the wings were in such condition that 
the new owner, by the advice of his architect, had 
them pulled down, and at the same time restored 
perfectly the massive central portion. 

In 1853 the famous estate again changed 
hands, going then to Mr. Josiah Lilty Deans, of 
Midlothian, Gloucester County, and though it 
had been the scene of unlimited Colonial 
grandeur, under Mr. Deans' regime it counted 
some of its years of greatest splendor. Mr. 
Deans did much towards the perpetual preserva- 
tion of both mansion and plantation, for, without 
changing the original effect, he restored all that 
was necessary with a true love and understand- 
ing. In his grand old home he entertained with 
a royal hand, causing the hospitality of Rosewell 
to be famed from coast to coast. 

During the pitiable war which followed all too 
closely upon this gala period of Virginia, the 
mansion was fired at many tunes from Federal 
gunboats Ijang in York River, and but for the 
timely interference of some appreciative naval 
officers who had once been honored guests of INIr. 
Deans, the staunch walls of the old manor-house 
would undoubted!}^ have been but a pile of ruins. 

After the death of Mr. Deans, in 1881, Rose- 
well was sold for division among the heirs, and 

204 



ROSEWELL 



passed again into the Page family, through 
Phihp Page, of South America. Some years 
later the estate was bought back by the Deans 
heirs, and when a subdivision was made, the 
mansion and acres fell to Mrs. Fielding Lewis 
Taylor, daughter of Mr. Josiah Lilly Deans. 
Through Judge Taylor's connection with the 
Waller family, Rosewell is still in the possession 
of the descendants of celebrated Mann Page. 

The superbly constructed mansion stands to- 
day as firmly as when it was completed in 1730, 
and happily gives promise of outliving many 
centuries to come. In the old garden, lying be- 
tween the house and river, boxwood hedges and 
old-fashioned blossoms grow in memory of 
Colonial daj'^s. 

When a ball is given at Rosewell House, it 
looks like some famous beauty of the early days 
decked brilliantly for a less picturesque genera- 
tion. Not long ago there was such a famous 
gathering under the broad roof, and when the Sir 
Roger de Coverley was danced, the flames from 
a thousand waxen tapers threw their light upon 
the happy, youthful faces of fourteen descend- 
ants of the builder of the mansion, seventeen of 
old King Carter, twenty-two of Augustine 
Warner, Speaker of the House of Burgesses, 

205 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

and eight of that great gentleman of Westover, 
the second William Byrd. 

In the spring the vast lawn of Rosewell is 
wrapped in a golden mantle of buttercups, while 
ox-eyed daisies stud the grounds in June. Car- 
dinal birds, in loving memory of the little lad 
who holds one of them so closely in the old 
portrait, flash their gay plumage from limb to 
limb of time-worn trees loyal to the historic 
structure. 

There is much to be learned in the staunch 
walls of Rosewell, an ever-increasing reminder 
of America's vital days, and through the vista of 
years now bound into centuries one realizes only 
too keenly the great debt those of the present 
generation owe to those who came before. 



ELSING GREEN 




OME twenty-five miles 
from the city of Rich- 
mond, lying in a pic- 
turesque country, 
where broad streams 
thread in and out 
among the hills, is El- 
sing Green, a splen- 
didly preserved bit of Colonial days. 

Nature is always kindly disposed in the mat- 
ter of scenery in Virginia, and she seems to have 
spared little in King William County, which was 
carved from New Kent in early days ; so, perched 
stolidly on a bit of rising ground not far from 
the Pamunkey River, this country-seat of the 
Dandridges vies with any in America. The 
estate was founded by William Dandridge, who, 
with his brother iphn, the father of Martha 
Washington, came to Virginia previously to 
1716, these two being the progenitors of the 
American family of that name. 

The Dandridges, whose English seat was 
Raiders Green, Worcester, are said to have 

207 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

gained their name from Danebridge, in Cheshire, 
and according to the family chart boast a straight 
descent from the Conqueror, as the following bit 
of genealogy attests : 

William the Conqueror, King of England, 
married Lady Maud, daughter of Baldwin, 
Count of Flanders, and had : 

Lady Gundreda of Normandy, married Wil- 
liam de Warren, created Earl of Surrey 1098. 
Issue : 

William de Warren, second Earl of Surrej% 
married Isabelle de Vermandois, who was a direct 
descendant of Charlemagne. Issue: 

Lady Adeline de Warren, married 1139 Prince 
Henry of Scotland. Issue : 

Princess Margery of Scotland, married sec- 
ondly Sir Humphrey de Bohm, second Baron 
de Bohm and Earl of Hereford. Issue : 

Lady de Bohm, married Reginald, sixth 
Baron de Mohun. Issue : 

Sir John de JNIohun, married Lady Joan, 
daughter of Sir Reginald Fitz-Piers. Issue: 

Sir John de Mohun, first Lord de Mohun, 
married Lady Auda, daughter of Sir Richard 
Tibetot. Issue : 

Lady Margaret de Mohun, married Sir John 
Cantelupe, Lord of Smithfield. Issue : 

308 



ELSING GREEN 



Lady Eleanor Cantelupe, married Sir Thomas 
de West, of Hamperden. Issue : 

Sir Thomas de West, married Alice, daughter 
of Reginald Fitz-Piers, Baron of Wolverly. 
Issue: 

Su* Thomas de West, who served in the French 
War of 1395, married Lady Joan, sister and 
heiress of Lord De La Warre. Issue: 

Sir Reginald West, married Lady Elenor 
Percy, daughter of Henry Percy, first Earl of 
Northumberland. Issue : 

Sir Richard West, seventh Lord De La Warr, 
married Lady Katherine, daughter of Robert, 
Lord Hungerford. Issue: 

Sir Thomas West, K. G., married secondly 
Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Sii* Roger Copley 
of Gatton. Issue : 

Sir George West, married Lady Elizabeth, 
daughter of Sir Anthony Moreton of Lechdale. 
Issiie : 

Sir William West, created Lord Delaware in 
1658, married Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Sir 
Thomas Strange of Chesterton. Issue: 

Sir Thomas West, married Anne, daughter of 
Sir Francis KnoUys. Issue: 

Honorable Colonel John West, born 1590, 

Governor of Virginia, married Anne . 

Issue : 

14 209 , , 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Colonel John West, of " Westpoint," Vir- 
ginia, born 1633, married Unity, daughter of 
Major Croshaw. Issue: 

Captain Nathaniel West, married Martha, 
widow of Honorable Gideon Macon. Issue : 

Unity West, married about 1719 Honorable 
Captain William Dandridge. 

Thus it will be seen that the name of Dand- 
ridge is closely linked with those of proudest 
descent in England, and in America it is con- 
nected with such well-known families as the 
Spotswoods, the Sales of " Farmer's HaD," the 
Ayletts, Wests, Henlys, and many others equally 
renowned. 

William Dandridge, who was a captain in the 
Royal Navy, won great distinction for bravery 
at the battle of Cartagena, and in the rooms of 
the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond 
there now hangs, near his portrait, the sword pre- 
sented him by the Lord High Admiral. Promi- 
nent among his commands were H. M. S. Wolf, 
South Sea, and Ludlow Castle, his name being 
connected with Oglethorpe's in the latter's 
famous attack upon St. Augustine. 

He married first Euphar Wallace, widow of 
Wilson Roscow of Hampton, and in March, 
1719, married again, the second v/ife being Unity 

210 




^^. 



ELSING GREEN 



West, a great heiress; and when he died, in 1743, 
Elsing Green was inherited by his sons, Nathan- 
iel West Dandridge and William Dandridge. 

On the 18th of June, 1747, the former married 
Dorothea Spotswood, daughter of Governor 
Spotswood, and it was their child, beautiful 
Dorothea Dandridge, who married Patrick 
Henry. The portrait of Dorothea Henry, now 
in the possession of relatives in Richmond, shows 
one of the brightest, most winsome faces to be 
found among the old-time beauties. Her simply- 
fashioned gown of some dark-colored stuiF is set 
oiF by a carelessly draped mull fichu, while the 
slightly-bent head with its wealth of chestnut 
curls is rich in its large-eyed, expressive face, the 
curving hps of which would seem never to have 
known aught but smiles. Times have greatly 
changed since the day of Dorothea Henry; the 
estate of her forefathers has long since left her 
line, yet her smile lives on in the fair old portrait, 
unmindful of vicissitudes and trials. 

From the Dandridge family Elsing Green was 
bought by George Braxton, who built the present 
manor-house for his son. Carter Braxton, signer 
of the Declaration of Independence. The letters 
C. B., with the date 1758, which are placed over 
the west entrance, seem to prove that to have been 

211 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

the year in which the mansion was completed. 
The large two-story brick mansion, presenting 
architecturally the shape of the letter H, faces 
the roadway, and on the north and south ends 
are gambrel-roofed wings, which, though origin- 
ally connected with the central portion by colon- 
nades, now stand as separate buildings. Within 
doors the rooms are remarkably large and high- 
ceiled, each having an interesting little history of 
its own, but among the most unique features 
which belonged to the house in Colonial days were 
the quaint brass fire-backs in every chimney, each 
depicting some renowned event in history. For- 
tunately for the lover of the antique and unusual, 
one of these keeps yet its ancient place, and as the 
flames leap up from the blazing logs, the pathetic 
death-scene of General Wolfe stands forth in 
responsive distinctness. 

During the regime of William Burnett 
Browne, who purchased Elsing Green from 
Carter Braxton, many art treasures found their 
way to the dignified mansion, not the least notable 
being a set of Gobelin tapestries which were 
presented to Bishop Burnett, maternal grand- 
father of the owner, by William of Orange, and 
a superb Holbein portrait of Sir Anthony 
Browne, Viscount Montacute. 



ELSING GREEN 



Mary, the daughter of Wilham Burnett 
Browne, married Herbert Claiborne, and to their 
son, Wilham Dandridge Claiborne, her father 
left the estate, with the proviso that he take his 
name, in order that that of William Burnett 
Browne might be perpetuated. This second 
William Burnett Browne, who wisely acceded to 
the wishes of his grandfather, married Judith, 
daughter of Charles Carter of Cleve, and lived 
at Elsing Green until 1820, when the estate was 
conveyed to William Gregory, a prominent mem- 
ber of the Virginia Legislature just after the 
Revolution. 

Unfortunately all the records of King Wil- 
liam County previous to 1885 were destroyed by 
fire, making it impossible to tell the dates of 
grants and the number of acres of the old planta- 
tions before that time. When the manor came 
into the possession of William Gregory, he imme- 
diately added by purchase 870 acres, and again in 
1832 gave to it 216 more, thus considerably in- 
creasing it in value as well as size. 

In the year 1840 the old place went to the 
widow of William Gregory. She, dying in 1 842, 
left it to her son, Roger Gregory. As the latter 
died intestate, the property would have been 
divided among his five children, had not Roger 

213 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Gregory, the second son, bought out the interests 
of his brothers and sisters, thus becoming the sole 
owner of the beautiful estate, which has been his 
home since 1840. Judge Roger Gregory has 
added 300 acres to the plantation since he became 
its proprietor, and instead of dwindling with the 
years, as so many Colonial homes have done, 
Elsing Green has steadily gained. 

The mansion, now so serene in its comfortable 
setting of forest trees, has felt its years of trouble 
and days of sorrow. Twice has it been partly 
wrecked by fire, and but for the extraordinarily 
substantial walls would long ago have been a 
mass of ruins. Fortunately the interior wood- 
work alone was irrevocably damaged, but no 
sooner was this replaced than Federal troops, 
brought by the Civil War, stabled their horses in 
the great hall, doing unwarrantable harm; and 
though the years have kindly effaced much, there 
are still enough scars visible to hold the interest as 
historical landmarks. 

In the old graveyard, not very far from the 
house, sleep some generations of different 
families to whom the place meant home. Blue 
myrtle links the silent mounds one to another; 
unselfish boughs bend low in loving protection 
over the quiet resting-places of those of various 
names and blood. 

314 



ELSING GREEN 



Off the beaten track of travel, yet within easy 
touch of Virginia's greatest city, securely happy 
in its apparent country isolation, Elsing Green 
lives on in its dignified fashion, as it did when the 
Indians rowed up the silvery Pamunkey to creep 
steathily about for a glimpse of this white man's 
palace. 

The old garden here had its place in the annals 
of early Virginia, and many and fragrant were 
the blossoms which returned year after year to 
their particular spots, each of which was walled 
in with gallant little boxwood hedges. 

Elsing Green was made by those of a far dif- 
ferent period from to-day, yet throughout its 
existence the wheel of fortune seems ever to have 
turned kindly, and, pausing before the old man- 
sion, one must wonder at the stories it could tell — ■ 
the tales of joyous meetings and sorrowful part- 
ings that have been its portion for the two long 
centuries during which America has been made. 



MONTICELLO 




HOUGH the name of 
Monticello is familiar 
to every one as the 
home of Thomas Jeff- 
erson, third President 
of the United States, 
there are only too few 
who know the true 
story of the mansion and estate that lie up 
among the clouds in beautiful Albermarle 
County. 

According to the President's family history, a 
Jefferson was Secretary of the Virginia Com- 
pany, and the name is found in the list of twenty- 
two members composing the first legislative body 
convened in America, the Assembly which met in 
Jamestown in 1619. This member was in all 
hkelihood the Immigrant, Thomas Jefferson, 
who in 1612 came from Wales, near the mountain 
of Snowdon, the highest point in all the British 
Isles. He married Mary Branch, daughter of 
William Branch, and lived on a plantation in 
Henrico County. 

S16 



i' c 




MONTICELLO 



His son, Captain Thomas Jefferson, married 
Mary Field, daughter of Peter Field and his 
wife, Judith Soane. In 1706 he was Justice of 
the county of Henrico, and was made Sheriff at 
a later date. 

Of the three sons of Captain Thomas Jeffer- 
son, Peter, born in 1708, was by far the most 
prominent, holding as he did the offices of Sheriff 
of Goochland, Justice of Albemarle, Burgess, 
and County Lieutenant. 

When but nineteen, Peter Jefferson married 
Jane, daughter of I sham and Jane Rogers Ran- 
dolph of Goochland, the latter being an heiress 
of London. Thus the relationship between the 
Jeffersons and Randolphs was established at an 
early date. 

In 1735, Colonel Peter Jefferson patented 
1000 acres of land lying along each side of the 
Rivanna River, at the intersection of the moun- 
tains, and next the grant obtained by his close 
friend and cousin, William Randolph of Tucka- 
hoe. To the original lands he continued to add 
until the plantation known as Shadwell num- 
bered 1900 acres, and here on April 2, 1743, was 
born Thomas Jefferson, Ambassador to France, 
Governor of Virginia, author of the Declaration 
of Independence, and President of the United 
States. 

217 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

On the death of his father, in 1757, Thomas 
Jefferson inherited Shadwell, but when that 
manor-house was burnt, in 1770, he erected a 
small brick building on the part of the estate 
called Monticello, the Italian name for " little 
mountain." 

The site chosen was the very apex of the moun- 
tain, and tradition claims that seven years passed 
before the sugar-loaf top was levelled, which 
when finished was but 600 by 200 feet, and 
rounded at either end. 

The climb of 580 feet from base to sumimit is 
made easy for man and beast by a carefully 
graded roadway, winding around and around 
until the lodge, one mile from the mansion, is 
reached. Passing through the curiously heavy 
gateway, the beginning, at one point, of the 
estate which in the time of Jefferson contained 
nearly 10,000 acres, the road of bends and curves 
leads through the beautiful park, well stocked 
with deer in the early days, but now echoing only 
to the whir of the wings of birds. 

Midway between the lodge and the mansion is 
the old graveyard, beneath the shade of a gigantic 
tree which sheltered first the tomb of Dabney 
Carr, the truest friend of Jefferson's youthful 
days. And though the boughs have since 

318 



MONTICELLO 



drooped above more illustrious dead, one hears 
with utmost reverence the beautiful story of 
Jefferson's promise to his boy friend, that here, 
beneath this wide-branching forest monarch, 
which was their favorite study and resting place, 
they both should lie when life was done. True 
to his sacred promise, the statesman kept his 
word, and when the brilliantly gifted Dabney 
Carr died, the Monticello grav^eyard was begun. 

Reaching the summit, a glorious panorama is 
unfolded, presenting an unbroken view of hill and 
mountain, valley and dale, for miles around. 
One enthusiastic writer, in fact no less a per- 
sonage than the Due de La Rochefoucauld, who 
visited Monticello in 1796, traces the extent of 
the view almost to the Atlantic Ocean, which, he 
asserts, " might be seen were it not for the great- 
ness of the distance." 

On the gentle slopes towards the south and 
east verdant fields and meadow lands roll from 
the very mountain's brow to the wooded plain 
below; the vivid green of early wheat- fields vies 
with the gold of harvest-time, while the reds and 
browns of the Indian corn are colors cast with 
reckless freedom from autumn's boimtiful hand. 
And on the bleaker western side, where the north 
wind has full play, unbroken forests stretch for 

219 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

miles, giving the needed form for so much 
prodigal color. In the distance hills upon hills 
arise, and mountains climb above mountains till 
lost in the misty horizon, as boundless as it is 
impenetrable. 

Let him who lived there tell the story, for 
Jefferson loved Monticello, and the words came 
straight from his heart when, in speaking of its 
beauties, he said: " Our own dear Monticello; 
where has Nature spread so rich a mantle under 
the eye? Mountains, forests, rocks, rivers. With 
what majesty do we here ride above the storms! 
How sublime to look down into the workhouse of 
Nature, to see her clouds, hail, snow, rain, thun- 
der, all fabricated at our feet, and the glorious 
sun, when rising as if out of a distant water, just 
gilding the tops of the mountains and giving life 
to all Nature!" 

It was to this God-gifted spot, in 1772, that 
Jefferson brought his beautiful bride, ]\Iartha 
Wayles, the young widow of Bathurst Skelton. 

The bricks of the original mansion were made 
on the place, but when improvements were begun 
in 1775, better were brought from Philadelphia. 
Being away so much just at this time, Jefferson 
found that the work must necessarily progress 
slowly, as he was not only the architect, but often 



MONTICELLO 



lent his aid in the actual building. It was really 
not until 1794, after his return from the French 
Court, that the work was resumed. The man- 
sion which the Due de La Rochefoucauld said 
" ranked with the most pleasant houses in Eng- 
land and France " was finally completed in 1802, 
twenty years having been consumed in its 
erection. 

A distinguished guest at Monticello in 1782, 
the Marquis de Chastellux, wrote: "We may 
safely aver that Mr. Jefferson is the first Amer- 
ican who has consulted the fine arts to know how 
to shelter liimself from the weather." And 
doubtless the Frenchman was entirely correct, 
for the classic lines of this manor-house, placed in 
the very centre of the mountain-top about fifty 
feet from the brow, are decidedly different from 
the structures previously built. In Monticello 
Jefferson set a fashion in homesteads, and it is to 
him that thanks should be given for the Greek 
revival which left such superb examples of the 
architecture of the day. 

The best description of the mansion is from the 
pen of one of the descendants of Thomas Jeffer- 
son. " The mansion externally is of the Doric 
order of Grecian architecture, with its heavy 
cornices and massive balustrades, its public rooms 

221 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

finished in the Ionic. The front hall of en- 
trance recedes six feet within the front wall of the 
building, covered by a portico the width of the 
recess, projecting twenty-five feet, and the height 
of the house, with stone pillars and steps. The 
hall is also the height of the house. From about 
midway of this room passages lead off to either 
extremity of the building. The rooms at the 
extremity of these passages terminate in octago- 
nal projections, leaving a recess of three equal 
sides, into which the passages enter; piazzas, the 
width of this recess, projecting six feet beyond, 
their roofs the height of the house, and resting 
on brick arches, cover the recesses. The northern 
one connects the house with the public terrace, 
while the southern is sashed in for a greenhouse. 
To the east of these passages on either side are 
lodging-rooms. This front is one and a half 
stories. On the west front the rooms occupy the 
whole height, making the house one story, except 
the parlor or central room, which is surmounted 
by an octagonal story, with a dome or spherical 
roof. The parlor projects twenty feet beyond 
the body of the house, covered by a portico of one 
story. The floor of this room is in squares, the 
squares being ten inches, of the wild cherry, very 
hard, susceptible of a high polish, and the color 

222 



MONTICELLO 



of mahogany. The border of each square, four 
inches wide, is of beech, light-colored, hard, and 
bearing a high polish. Its original cost was two 
hundred dollars." 

This beautiful floor, after more than a century 
of use and abuse, still compares with the most 
perfect modern tessellated floors. 

Among the chief features of the mansion are 
the chandeliers, which tradition says belonged 
first to the Empress Josephine and hung at 
Malmaison. 

During the Revolution, Jefferson being then 
Governor of Virginia, it was natural that Monti- 
cello should have been pillaged, and when 
Tarleton was in Charlottesville in 1781, Captain 
McLeod was put in command of the British 
troops sent to seize the Governor. " Meantime, 
a Mr. Jewitt, or Jouitt, of Louisa County, had 
ridden on ahead, and informed Governor Jeffer- 
son, who barely had time to escape into the woods. 
According to Lossing, op. cit., Tarleton had 
pushed on to Castle Hill, where he understood 
many influential Virginians were assembled. 
Several of these were captured, among whom 
were William and Robert, brothers of Governor 
Thomas Nelson. . . . The delay for breakfast 
at Dr. Walker's was sufficient to allow most of 

2!33 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

the members of the Legislature at Charlottesville 
to escape. Mr. Jefferson had not been gone ten 
minutes when the British troops rode up and 
found the Monticello mansion deserted." But 
Tarleton had given strict orders not to injure the 
mansion, and, not finding the Governor, McLeod 
carried out the command to the letter, retracing 
his steps and leaving everything about the house 
untouched. 

The beautiful grounds of Monticello are a 
mass of superb old trees and rare flowering 
shrubs, most of which were set out by the Presi- 
dent's hand, many being imported. But it was 
in the garden, laid out by himself, that he found 
his greatest pleasure and recreation, and imagina- 
tion can picture the great man, with spade in 
hand or measuring-line, proving the happy truth 
of his own proverb that " Those who labor in the 
earth are the chosen people of God." So devoted 
was Jefferson to the country pastimes and de- 
lights of his homestead that even during his two 
terms as President he managed, so we are told, 
to spend 796 days at Monticello. 

Resting in the quiet, beautiful spot for a 
moment, surrounded by the glowing blossoms 
that showed their first colors for the early states- 
man, one turns at the faintest rustle, half expect- 

224 






— J? v. 

I 5- - 




MONTICELLO 



ing to see the masterful figure of Thomas Jeffer- 
son on his daily walk through the cherished flower 
squares, here pausing for a bit of pruning, or 
there beaming upon some rare new bud. 

The luscious grapes that now ripen in such pro- 
fusion, the figs and cherries that show such rich 
production, were sprigs and saplings in the first 
days of the plantation, pointed out with pride to 
many distinguished guests. 

And with these last the hospitable mansion was 
profusely decorated, Lafayette, Kosciusko, the de 
Riedesels, William Wirt, Abbe Correa, Chastel- 
lux, La Rochefoucauld, Washington, Monroe, 
and Madison, as well as others of renown, having 
visited there. 

With what regret Jefferson must have met the 
call to leave this fair estate of his own making, 
and yet perhaps he was spared the tingling 
humiliation that would soon have come to him. 
In the presence of his petted daughter " Patsy," 
Martha Jefferson Randolph, his favorite grand- 
child, and a few others, he looked his last upon 
his fair green acres July 4, 1826. 

Some days after his death Mrs. Randolph, in 
the sad duty of gathering together his treasures, 
found a pen-and-ink sketch of a monument which 
he had designed for himself. This obelisk was 

15 225 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

to be eight feet high, and with a base in keeping, 
upon which he wished inscribed: 

" Here was Buried 

Thomas Jefferson, 

Author of the Declaration of American 

Independence, 

Of the Statute of Virginia for Religious 

Freedom, 
And Father of the University of Virginia." 

These last known wishes were scrupulously 
executed by his devoted grandson, Thomas Jef- 
ferson Randolph, who, though the debts with 
which the estate was burdened fell upon him, 
courteously declined the offer of assistance from 
the Legislature of Virginia and other States. 

As no suitable stone could be found in Vir- 
ginia, the shaft was cut from Vermont granite, 
into which was let a marble tablet engraved with 
the inscription. The grave and monument, the 
latter having been sadly hacked by relic-hunters, 
were in a pathetic condition in 1875, when the 
Senate of Virginia passed a resolution to restore 
and preserve both, appropriating $10,000 for the 
purpose. 

The new obelisk is of granite quarried near 
Richmond, and is exactly twice the size of the 

2^6 



MONTICELLO 



original, the base, plinth, and shaft measuring 
eighteen feet in height. In all other respects it 
duplicates the first. In 1883 this monument of 
the people's love was placed with appropriate 
ceremonies, and now stands enclosed in an eight- 
foot iron railing, the heavy gate of which admits 
no entrance. So until the end of time one of 
the greatest men of the nation will rest near his 
boyhood friend, beneath the gnarled branches of 
the venerable tree which bent low over them in 
the sunrise of life. 

Monticello was a Mecca for Americans and 
foreigners alike. Some came from interest, 
others from curiositj^ but guests were so con- 
tinuous and visits were of such duration that this 
man who wore the laurel wreath was forced to 
consider mundane trials. Not a day passed but 
that the mansion was filled with visitors, while the 
ample stables housed their many horses. Jeffer- 
son's granddaughter tells us that sometimes fifty 
unexpected guests would have to be prepared for 
in the course of one day. 

After his greatness, Jefferson knew no private 
life at Monticello, and the incessant entertaining 
wrought sad havoc with the income that had once 
been more than sufficient. 

Six months after his death JSIonticello was sold, 

227 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

and in 1828 the mansion, with 400 acres, became 
the property of Commodore Uriah P. Levy, an 
ardent admirer of the eminent statesman. 

During the Civil War the estate was confis- 
cated by the Confederate Government and the 
mansion used as a hospital, after which it was 
rented out to veritable vandals, who allowed the 
historic spot to be sadly desecrated. The family 
of Mr. Levy regained possession of it, however, 
and the reverent work of restoration was soon 
wrought. 

After a visit to the beautiful spot, and a sigh 
of regret for the days so long dead, memory lives 
in silent musing, for, apart from its historic in- 
terest and association, " Monticello, with its im- 
posing architecture, its great trees, its spacious 
lawns, and its wonderful perspective of mountain 
grandeur, illustrates the noblest type of our 
Colonial homes." 



CASTLE HILL 




^ N the rare old days nobil- 
ity was no stranger 
to the lords of the 
great Virginia estates, 
who counted house and 
dinner guests from 
among the royal 
ranks, and perhaps no 
plantation was more favored in this respect than 
Castle Hill, the picturesque acres of which roll 
in the heart of Albemarle County, and were first 
wrested from the Indians by Dr. Thomas Walker 
about 1740. 

Thomas Walker, the progenitor of the Vir- 
ginia family, came from Staffordshire, England, 
in 1650. Settling in Gloucester, he was in 1662 
a member of the Colonial Assembly, representing 
that county. His ancestry was of the nobihty, 
Sir Thomas Walker having represented Exeter 
in the Parliament of Charles I.; but the name of 
his wife is enveloped in obscurity, and though the 
Thomas Walker of King and Queen County was 

229 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

in all probabilit}^ his grandson, there is no proof 
to substantiate the fact. 

This Thomas Walker married Susanna 
Peachy (?), September 29, 1709, and his second 
son. Dr. Thomas Walker, was the fii'st owner of 
the Castle Hill estate. The old Walker family 
Bible, printed in 1589, which is still in the posses- 
sion of one of his descendants, records his birth: 
" Tho" Walker borne Jan. ''^ 25, 1715." In 
1741 he married Mildred Thornton, the Widow 
Meriwether, through whom lie came into posses- 
sion of the 11,000 acres comprising Castle Hill, a 
grant from George II. to Nicholas Meriwether. 

Dr. Walker is said to have been the fii-st white 
man ever in Kentucky, having explored that 
country in 1750, even Daniel Boone being thir- 
teen years later. The hatchet with which he 
blazed his trail, marking the lands he acquired 
from the Indians, was inscribed " T. W.," and is 
supposed to be now in a museum in Louisville, 
having been found in Kentucky some years ago. 

The approach to Castle Hill is over a road of 
winds and bends, through a superb avenue of 
stately cedars and locust-trees, which continues to 
the extensive lawn. On one side is the pictu- 
resque park of tangled undergrowth, where oak 
branches droop over evergreens and delicate 

330 



-0 V) 



B 


r 


O 


PI 


It 




iR 


X 






H 


r 





r 




CASTLE HILL 



ferns fringe the great trunks. In sharp con- 
trast to this forest primeval is the lengthy stretch 
of faultless turfing, relieved only by palms and 
cacti of the tropical zone. 

In the midst of all this verdure, so entirely 
hidden by the density of the foliage as to be 
almost invisible from the road, is the two-story 
brick mansion, in its dignified repose reaping the 
harvest of a peaceful age. The exact date of its 
erection is rather vague, but is generally placed 
about 1764. The original house built by Dr. 
Walker is still standing, and though it fronted 
then towards the mountains, that is, northwest, 
when it was remodelled by the Honorable Wil- 
liam C. Rives in 1824 it was made to face 
southeast. 

Guarding each side of the mansion are gor- 
geously hued giant azaleas, while close to the 
walls are banked lesser but still beautiful shrubs. 

The generous portico is supported on Cor- 
inthian columns, thickly hung with English ivy, 
the tendrils of which cling lovingly to the upper 
balcony rail. The wings, added by Mr. Rives in 
1840, are used as conservatories, being perhaps 
the most extensive in Virginia, stocked as they are 
with rare exotics and native plants of infinite 
variety. 

231 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

On the interior the key-note is luxurious space. 
A great hall, running its entire depth, connects 
the older with the more modern part of the dwell- 
ing. In all of the rooms on the first floor are 
treasures of art, and many interesting mementos 
of travel collected by Mr. Rives during his long 
sojourn abroad. Among the portraits, those of 
Mr. and Mrs. Rives and the group of their three 
sons, Francis, William, and Alfred, as children, 
are noticeable, while that of the Princess Trou- 
betskoy, done in Paris, is the most celebrated of 
those of latter years. 

The graceful circular stairway which connects 
the first and second floors is a marked feature of 
the interior decoration, and from the upper bal- 
cony may be had a glorious view of the surround- 
ing country. 

A broad and undulating meadow climbs 
towards the eastern sky, merging gradually into 
the woody vales, beyond which the deeper forest 
proves the necessary shadow for the nature- 
painted picture. Exquisite blossoms that know 
no human tending nod before the winds of sum- 
mer or sleep beneath the winter snows, and 
masses of brilliant foxglove cover the fences and 
hang from the trunks of trees. Beyond all, the 
majestic mountain rises from the nest of hills, 

232 



CASTLE HILL 



losing its summit in misty grayness or cutting 
sharply into dazzKng blue. 

The first owner of all this beauty, the explorer, 
statesman, and soldier, introduced here the now 
renowned Albemarle pippin, one of the most 
delicately flavored apples ever grown. 

Dr. Walker won fame for his diplomatic rela- 
tions with the Indians, Castle Hill being a stop- 
ping-place for the sachems on their way to and 
from Williamsburg. According to tradition, he 
met with them under a great ox-heart cherry-tree 
which grew near the house till 1854. In 1775 he 
was with Washington at the defeat of Braddock, 
and during the Revolution both he and his home- 
stead played an important part. 

One of his descendants has given the following 
account of Tarleton's visit to Castle Hill : 

" It was on the 4th of June, 1781, according to 
Lossing (see ' Field Book of the Revolution '), 
when Tarleton, with his British troopers, on their 
way to Charlottesville, Virginia, appeared at 
Castle Hill and demanded breakfast. Among 
the rebels surprised there were William and 
Robert, brothers of Gov. Thomas Nelson of 
Yorktown, Virginia, and Francis Kinloch. In 
their attempt to escape, the latter was pursued 
into the vineyard field by a British soldier, who 

233 



COLONIAL MANORS o/' VIRGINIA 

shouted, * Stop, Cousin Frank; you know I could 
always beat you running.' Whereupon the 
Cousin Frank surrendered to an old acquaintance 
and relative. Living at Castle Hill at that time 
was a colored lad, about eleven years old, named 
Thomas Wilkes. Dr. Walker brought him to 
Castle Hill from King and Queen County, Vir- 
ginia, and subsequently employed him as his 
body-servant. He was also at one time fifer of 
the Eighty-eighth Virginia Regiment. He lived 
to an old age, and became known far and near 
as ' Uncle Tom.' 

" According to Uncle Tom, Tarleton's men 
were mostly armed with halberds and spontoons. 
They are a sort of spear, and samples of these 
weapons are seen in the Tower of London, in the 
room called the Horse Armory. Tarleton was 
on his way to Charlottesville, Albemarle County, 
Virginia, having received orders from Cornwallis 
to capture Gov. Thomas Jefferson (afterwards 
President United States), and members of the 
Virginia Legislature, there assembled. 

" Tarleton was detained at Castle Hill about 
the breakfast, for more reasons than one. The 
cook stated that the soldiers forcibly carried off 
the food as fast as she could prepare it. This 
put Tarleton out of humor, and when he was told 

234 



CASTLE HILL 



that some of his men were breaking open the 
stables and stealing the horses, he lost all patience 
and became furious. The culprits were seized, 
and, according to Uncle Tom, punished in a 
terrible manner. Having been stripped to the 
waist, they were bound across tobacco hogsheads. 
In this position they were flogged with a perfor- 
ated sole-leather paddle. The screams of the 
unfortunate creatures attested the severity of the 
punishment, but none except those who have 
heard Uncle Tom imitate their cries can fully 
appreciate it." 

As every one knows, this detention at Castle 
Hill caused Tarleton to miss the capture of 
Jefferson. 

Among other interesting stories, the writer 
above referred to relates: " Uncle Tom used to 
say that Dr. Walker had a remarkable dog, 
named Bowser. The Doctor went out, once 
upon a time, and remained absent among the 
Indians for the space of seven years. Upon his 
return to Castle Hill, one evening, his dog, who 
had not seen him in all that time, recognized his 
voice, and broke tlirough a shutter in getting out 
of a room to meet him. The identical shutter 
was at Castle Hill in 1852, and Uncle Tom 
always took great pride in showing it." 

235 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Francis Walker, the youngest son of Thomas 
and Mildred Thornton Walker, was born in 1764, 
and on the death of his father, in 1794, inherited 
Castle Hill. He married Jane Byrd, daughter 
of Colonel Hugh Nelson of Yorktown, and it 
was their daughter, Judith Page Walker, born 
in 1792, who married, in 1819, William C. Rives, 
who thus came into possession of the estate. 

Mr. Rives' mother was a Miss Cabell, daughter 
of Dr. William Cabell of the English Navy, who 
owned 25,000 acres of land on James River, he 
having emigrated in 1720. 

Though Castle Hill was prominent as the 
home of the Walkers, it is undoubtedly best 
kno^n as that of the Rives family, under whose 
regime it has achieved a fame that cannot be 
dimmed for many years to come. 

William Cabell Rives, one of the most eminent 
men of his day, was a member of the General 
Assembly from 1817 to 1823, and in Congress 
from 1823 to 1829. He was appointed minister 
to France in 1829, which office he held until 1832, 
when he was elected to the United States Senate, 
where he served until 1845. In 1849 he was 
again made French ambassador. 

The following letter, written by Mrs. Rives 
during Mr. Rives' first term at the American 

S36 



CASTLE HILL 



Embassy in Paris, gives an intimate description 
of the chateau of Lafayette, which place they 
were then visiting: 

" La Geange, July 25th, 1830. 

" My deae Sister : — We have desired much ever 
since our sojourn in France to pay a visit to our ven- 
erable friend Lafayette at his chateau of La Grange. 
Many circumstances have heretofore prevented us from 
enjoying this gratification, but we resolved a few 
days ago to pay him a short visit, as the necessity of 
his return to Paris as a member of the Chamber of 
Deputies, convoked on the third of August, left but 
a short time for him to remain at his chateau during 
the summer. We left Paris accordingly on the 24th, 
and reached the chateau on the evening of the same 
day, being a distance of about forty miles. 

" The chateau is very old, and the outside being 
flanked with round towers in the antique style with 
thin loop-holes, it has the aspect of a fortified castle. 
This effect is heightened by the stream or canal which 
partly surrounds the walls, and which has once been 
the moat. 

** The interior of the chateau is pecularily interesting 
to an American, as at every turn there are objects 
that recall the remembrance of our native land. On 
ascending the large stairway, the first object that 
meets the eye is a large map of Virginia; a little 
farther on is another, of the United States. The 

237 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

American flag presented to the General by the officers 
of the Brandywine forms the tapestry of part of the 
principal salon, and is an appropriate drapery to the 
picture of Washington which it surrounds. The 
portraits of our distinguished men each have their 
place, and with those of a few of the General's country- 
men are the only ornaments of the salons. Indeed, 
there is an air of perfect simplicity about the furniture 
which is in keeping with the avowed republicanism of 
the owner. 

" The chateau is always full of visitors, either from 
the neighborhood or Paris, for whom there is a pro- 
vision of twenty-two chambers. 

" The family is quite numerous, consisting at present 
of the daughter of the General, who bears the name of 
Virginia (Madame de Lasteyrie), and the lady of his 
son, George Washington Lafayette, with their un- 
married sons and daughters." 

Life at Castle Hill during the time of Mr. 
Rives is very beautifully described in an old letter 
written by one of his guests during a house-party 
in honor of Lord and Lady Napier, Lord Napier 
being then Her Britannic Majesty's minister 
to the United States, in the early part of 
Buchanan's administration : 

" I need not say they are enchanted with Lady 
Napier, and she says to me ' she has met no one 

238 



CASTLE HILL 



in America like ]Mr. Rives, and but few in 
Europe ' combining his many high and excellent 
qualities. But I leave her to tell her own story 
to you. She says she is perfectly happy here, 
meeting so much culture and refinement in the 
family. Everything with her is couleur de rose, 
regretting when fatigue causes her to seek 
repose. She was made at home at once, and so 
felt and acted. I only wish you could have been 
in the party. Drives, books, music, walks, and 
jeux de mots have all been in requisition. In our 
views of men and things jNIr. Rives and I coin- 
cide, and we tell each other anecdotes of the past 
that chance to be new to each other; so you see, 
with politics, agriculture, domestic history, and 
even in genealogy, we have common themes. So 
time never hangs heavy with me. Besides, I have 
other associations. Mr. Francis Rives is here 
with his wife, only child of Mr. George Barclay, 
with whom and his bride I crossed the Atlantic in 
1819. Mr. William C. Rives, Jr., on his planta- 
tion beyond the depot, married the daughter of 
David Sears, a sister of Madame de Hauteville. 
I knew her parents, and her maternal and pater- 
nal grandfather, besides sundry of her family and 
friends. Yesterday, as we returned from a visit 

239 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

to her, in a wagon, Lady Napier, Mrs. Rives, 
Mr. Rives, and myself, on a rather steep hill we 
met Mr. Mason of Boston, uncle to Mr. Rives, 
Jr., just landed from the cars, with his travelHng- 
bag in his hand, on his way to visit his niece. 
Mr. M. was on foot. He bowed to Mr. and Mrs. 
Rives, but was not recognized by either of them, 
not being expected; but he was by me, though I 
had not seen him for about ten years. He was 
my classmate and friend. 

" This morning I made him a visit, and he and 
Mr. and Mrs. William Rives are to dine with 
us to-day. 

" By Mrs. Rives' permission I send you a 
verbatim copy of a letter from Mr. Webster, 
from her interesting book of autographs, embrac- 
ing valuable letters from Washington, Adams, 
Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Monroe, Ran- 
dolph, &c., chiefly to her family and her husband: 

" ' New^ York, March 21st, 1844. 
'' ' Hon, W. C. Rives, 

*' * My Dear Sir : — I pray to tender you both 
thanks and congratulations for your excellent 
and admirable speech in reply to Mr. Buchanan. 
It was read here yesterday by everybody, and 
praised as universally as it was read. 

340 



CASTLE HILL 



"' It is to mt quite unaccountable that Mr. B. 
should indulge in such sentiments as he expresses 
towards England. He talks as if England were 
still oppressing and grinding us, under a colonial 
bondage, and as a cruel stepmother, &c. ; a tone, 
as it seems to me, quite below the dignity of a 
Government conscious of its own independence 
and its own power. 

" ' It is equally marvellous that in speaking on 
such subjects, and in the face of the world, he 
should suffer himself to fall into such enormous 
mistakes. 

" ' Whoever is about to impute dishonorable 
conduct to a government or an individual ought 
to be careful, one should think, about the accuracy 
of his facts. 

*' ' ISIr. B.'s mistakes brought to my mind a 
humorous epitaph which some one proposed for 
the tomb of Wraxall. I do not recollect it fully, 
but it was something to the following effect, and 
more and better: 



Mistaking, misdating, 
Misciting, miswriting. 
Misspelling, mistelling. 
Ill-sorting, distorting, 
Confusing, abusing, 



16 241 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Words, speeches, letters, and facts aU: 
Here lie the bones of Nathaniel Wraxall." 
*' * Yours truly, 

" ' Daniel Webster.' " 

The little Gothic chapel which stands at the 
foot of the hill, and is clearly visible from the 
mansion, was the life-work of Mrs. William C. 
Rives. Known now as Grace Church, the chapel 
took the place of old Walker's Church, which was 
erected about 1746. The freestone of which the 
sacred edifice is built was quarried near the place. 
Carved oak and Virginia pine finish the interior, 
lighted by stained-glass windows, and the three 
marble tablets that are seen in the chancel were 
given by Mrs. Henry Sigourney, of Boston, 
while the bell, which weighs 1175 pounds, was 
presented by Mr. David Sears, of the same city. 

Mrs. Sigourney, who was Amelie Louise 
Rives, was named for the wife of Louis Philippe, 
of whom her father was a great friend. The 
same name is now borne by her niece, the Princess 
Troubetskoy, who, as Amelie Rives, has won 
fame in the literary and artistic world. 

The future of this famous estate has been 
forever insured by Mrs. Sarah C. Rives, wife of 
Colonel Alfred Landon Rives, and the present 

242 



CASTLE HILL 



owner. In a deed dated June 10, 1908, Mrs. 
Rives retains for herself and three daughters a 
life-interest in Castle Hill, but should the latter 
leave no heirs, the property passes to the Univer- 
sity of Virginia as a perpetual memorial of this 
most interesting family. 

These vast acres, once the stopping-place of 
Indians and the meeting-place of the foremost 
men of an early age, now rest quietly in their 
mountain scenery. The meadows are clothed in 
the rich mantle of famed Virginia blue grass, for 
historic Castle Hill is now the celebrated stock- 
farm of JNIrs. Allen Potts, daughter of Mrs. 
Rives, who counts among her hunters and hack- 
neys a number of the finest blue-ribbon winners 
in the country. 

After having once visited the charming spot 
and felt the hospitality of its owners, one agrees 
to the letter with Wirt, who said, " The people 
of Albemarle County are the society of nature; '* 
and, once known, they are forever appreciated. 



ESTOUTEVILLE 




p S the gallant Count 
d'Estouteville marched 
into England with the 
Conqueror, undoubt- 
edly he had never a 
thought that his name 
was destined to be 
borrowed for one of 
the most sumptuous estates of a then unknown 
country. But tradition, history's elder sister, 
tells us that such was true, and Estouteville, the 
Coles homestead in Albemarle County, Virginia, 
is worthy of the name of its family's famous 
ancestor. 

Among the many land-grants in Virginia to 
which was affixed the signature of George III. 
were four made August 3, 1771, to John Coles 
II., son of the first John Coles, who came to the 
new world in 1710. 

This family, which now has so many roots and 
branches in this country, claims an aristocratic 
English descent. Many centuries ago, when 
England was vainly trying to bring Ireland 

244 



ESTOUTEVILLE 



under her complete dominion, great inducements 
were held forth to Enghsh gentlemen who settled 
there ; and taking advantage of an offer of many 
thousand acres, one of the Coles ancestors emi- 
grated to Enniscorthy, in the county of Leinster, 
where his descendants still continue to Hve. 

Perhaps had John Coles 1st, a younger son, not 
incurred the displeasure of his father, there never 
would have been any of the name in America. 
As it was, the hot-headed youth left the paternal 
roof for the foreign land, and there is a pretty 
touch of pathetic sentiment in the thought that 
the estate he founded here was called Ennis- 
corthy, in memory of that more ancient home. 

John Coles, the Immigrant, who built the first 
dwelling in Riclimond, married Mary, daughter 
of Isaac Winston of Hanover County; and 
though he left a large family, owing to certain 
ideas of aristocratic inheritance the majority of 
his vast property went to the eldest son, Walter, 
John Coles 2nd gaining the Goochland County 
possessions, which a later subdivision brought 
into Albemarle. To the manor born of these 
lands the latter added the aforementioned grants, 
which consisted respectively of 200, 235, 200, and 
150 acres, the whole having increased to 1831 
acres since His Majesty honored John Coles in 

2U 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

1710. This was the beginning of beautiful 
Estouteville, which has always been held by those 
of one name and line ; and let us hope that as new 
years and centuries roll around, new generations 
of the same blood will treasure the old homestead, 
as a wonderful heritage from an age that is dead. 
The John Coles who virtually laid the corner- 
stone of Estouteville was born in 1745. He was 
a colonel of militia during the Revolution, and 
after the surrender of Burgoyne was honored 
with the command of the British prisoners held 
in Charlottesville. Apart from his great services 
to his country, he was a factor in the world of 
sport, being one of the most enthusiastic turfmen 
of his time and owning as fine a stable as Vir- 
ginia, the home of famous horses, afforded. It 
was said of this Colonial gentleman: " He had 
the virtue of the old-fashioned profuse, Virginia 
hospitality developed to an unusual degree. He 
kept open house, and there was rarely a time 
when they were without guests. Among those 
who would come, not for a day, but for weeks, 
were Jefferson, INIadison, Monroe, Patrick 
Henry, Wirt, Edmond, John and Thomas 
Mason, Randolph, Tazewell, and a number of 
prominent men of the state." He married Mary 
E. Tucker, daughter of John and Elizabeth 

246 



ESTOUTEVILLE 



Travis Tucker, and it was their son, John Coles 
3rd, who built the present mansion of Estoute- 
ville, which to-day wins the admiration of every 
architect in the land; for the builder proved in 
the style, workmanship, and material of his 
manor-house the rare combination of artistic 
appearance and sterling worth. 

The twelve-mile drive from Charlottesville ti. 
E stout eville takes one through the famed Green 
Mountain section of Virginia, the clay road wind- 
ing like a broad red band through hills and 
valleys, always fringed with trees and shrubbery. 
Just a few miles before the public highroad 
branches into the private driveway, is the historic 
spot where Lafayette cut through the forest, 
heading off Lord Cornwallis, whom he forced to 
retreat to Yorktown. The entire drive is through 
country teeming with facts of history and legends 
of romance, which, with the divinely picturesque 
scenery, renders it one long to be remembered by 
the least sentimental traveller. About two hun- 
dred yards from the main road, the ten-acre lawn 
is entered. Here long lines of lilac hedges stand 
like sentinels, halting the presumptuous present 
and wafting over all their wonderful spring fra- 
grance, which lingers till the rose-garden bursts 
into bloom. 

247 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Rising out of a grove of majestic trees, which 
drop from their huge arms trailing tassels of their 
foliage as a screen against the idle gaze of a 
curious world, the manor-house is most imposing. 
Immediately in front of it, where the large circle 
is bordered with old-fashioned rose-bushes, which 
live and die according to the sun-dial in the 
centre, the green folds seem to lift themselves 
that those really interested may enter and enjoy. 
Proud of the beauties they disclose, great trees 
are planted sometimes in rows and again care- 
lessly dotted over the grounds, all serving to 
guard the exquisite spot from the too inquisitive 
gaze of chance passers-by. The abode of knowl- 
edge, culture, and hospitality, many distinguished 
persons have been entertained here, for Estoute- 
ville has always smilingly welcomed each genera- 
tion as it took the place of another. 

This handsome dwelling, replacing one of 
more ancient date, was begun about 1815, and 
since its completion has suffered no remodelling 
save one or two modern interior additions, which, 
wisely enough, have not been allowed to interfere 
with the original design in any way. The red 
brick house stands out in perfect harmony with 
its surroundings. In common with most of the 
architecture of this section, the lines show a Jef- 

248 



ESTOUTEVILLE 



fersonian influence; for, once the statesman 
architect borrowed from the ancient temples, he 
started a fashion in houses which America has not 
forgotten, nor ever can. The main portion of 
the double-fronted mansion has two massive 
porticos, approached over a series of six stone 
steps and upheld by four enormous columns ex- 
tending from the flag-stone floor to the very roof. 
One-story wings adjoin it immediately, thus 
greatly increasing the frontage. (See Frontis- 
piece. ) 

Within doors the arrangement of the rooms 
has not undergone the slightest change. An 
oak-finished hall measuring forty by thirty feet is 
entered first, and impresses one with its charm- 
ingly open, light effect, given by two narrower 
hallways connecting it with the north and south 
wings. In every room an enviable collection of 
antique mahogany greets one, interesting pieces 
being card-tables, pier-glasses, high-post bed- 
steads, and candle-stands, though none compare 
in beauty and age with an old china-press filled 
with rare cut glass, inherited from the Skipwith 
family. 

All told, there are twenty-five large rooms, and 
upon the walls of many of them hang the like- 
nesses of some generations of the Coles, whose 
impassive faces look down upon the present 

249 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

owners of their name and line. Of one of these, 
that of Edward Coles, it has been written: " In 
the beautiful hall of Estouteville, in Albemarle 
County, Va., there hangs an oil portrait of 
Edward Coles, painted when he was still in the 
full vigor of middle life. It is a good picture as 
a work of art, and is said to be a good likeness. 
It represents a Virginian of the best type. A 
relative of ' Dolly Madison,' a pupil of her dis- 
tinguished husband, a friend of JeiFerson and 
Monroe, his line, well-bred face attracts at once 
the attention of every visitor who enjoys the 
hospitality of that beautiful home. Looking at 
his benign features, one is reminded again of how 
much our country owes to the great men of the 
Old Dominion, of whom Edward Coles was not 
the least in intelligence, courage and purity." 

Edward Coles, who was elected Governor of 
Illinois in 1822, wrote the following very remark- 
able letter to one of the leading papers of the 
State in reference to its having spoken of him as 
" His Excellency." 

" Vandalia, December 10, 1822. 
" Gentlemen: — Our State Constitution gives 
to the person exercising the functions of the 
Executive the appellation of Governor, a title 

350 



ESTOUTEVILLE 



which is specific, intelligible, and republican, and 
amply sufficient to denote the dignity of the office. 
In your last paper, you have noticed me by the 
addition of ' His Excellency,' an aristocratic and 
high-sounding adjunct, which, I am sorry to say, 
has become too common among us, not only in 
newspaper annunciations, but in the addressing 
of letters, and even in familiar discourse. It is a 
practice disagreeable to my feelings, and incon- 
sistent, as I think, with the dignified simplicity 
of freemen and with the nature of the vocation 
of those to whom it is applied. And having 
made it a rule through life to address no one as his 
Excellency or the Honorable, or by any such 
unmeaning title, I trust I shall be pardoned for 
asking it as a favor of you and my fellow-citizens 
generally not to apply them to me. 
" I am, etc., 

" Edward Coles." 

In the present age of title- worship, this letter 
of Governor Coles comes as a refreshing breath, 
ringing as it does with sincerity and true 
republicanism. 

The interior and exterior of this old mansion 
have an atmosphere of stateliness rivalled by few 
houses in the country, while the interesting 

251 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

antiques and souvenirs of history contained in it 
win for it prestige among even older dwellings. 

During the Civil War, Estouteville was one 
of the objective points of the frenzied soldiers of 
General Sherman's army; but the damage done 
was soon repaired, and now both mansion and 
estate live as happily as if they had never been 
under the shadow of a dreadful war. 

In the quaint old garden, or " sweet spot," 
box-trees have grown to be thirty feet tall, and, 
lying but a few yards from the house, its vari- 
colored blossoms lend their bright glory to the 
landscape in January as well as June. Here 
among the flowers often wandered sweet Sally 
Coles, who married Andrew Stevenson, minister 
to England in 1836, and who wrote to her broth- 
ers and sisters at home many delightful letters 
giving intimate glimpses of Victoria as Princess 
and Queen. 

One of these, dated August 3, 1837, describes 
a dinner with the Queen : 

" Mr. Vaux, whom we found in the office, pre- 
sented us an invitation to dine that evening with 
the Queen at a quarter past 7 precisely. Mr. S. 
was obliged to send an apology to the Duke, 
whilst I went to see Madame Dedel to inquire as 
to the costume, etc. At 7 I was dressed all in my 

259 



ESTOUTEVILLE 



white crape hat with ostrich feathers — which had 
not arrived from the miUiners — black silk, with 
black crape over it, trimmed with crape and black 
rosettes of berries and leaves, jet ornaments, 
necklace, earrings, bracelets; & at 5 minutes to 
the time, the hat arrived. And we did not get to 
the palace until many minutes after the precisely 
had passed. In trepidation I ran up the grand 
& magnificent staircase with as fleet a step as was 
consistent with my dignity, and through the 
superb suite of apartments, until we reached the 
grand receiving-room, where all the company 
were assembled, standing waiting for the appear- 
ance of Her Majesty. In a short time the glass 
doors of the next apartment opened, & she came 
forth in deep black, attended by all her ladies in 
waiting, maids of honor, & her ' august mother ' 
(the newspaper language), with her attendants, 
a goodly train. As we stood in a circle, the little 
Queen approached us & said something to each 
person with a calm and gentle dignity, as per- 
fectly self-possessed as if we had all been statues. 
Her mother followed, repeating the same cere- 
monious courtesy, & then dinner was announced. 
She took the arm of Count Pozzo di Borgo (the 
Russian Ambassador) & led the way. The fold- 
ing-doors flew open. The band, which was 

253 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

stationed in a marquee below, struck up, and we 
found ourselves in a magnificent banqueting- 
room, brilliantly lighted, and the table covered 
with a service of gold so splendid it dazzled one's 
eyes to look upon it. The Queen sat midway the 
table, with her lords-in-waiting at each end. Her 
little Majesty ate with a good appetite, and did 
full justice to the rich viands, which were always 
presented fii-st to her. After the second course, 
the lord-in-waiting who had led me in to dinner 
rose and drank the Queen's health. All stood up 
but the Queen. 

" When the dinner was over, her Majesty rose 
and passed out first. We followed, through the 
rich and gorgeous apartments, which reminded 
me of the descriptions in the ' Arabian Nights,' 
until she reached the grand drawing-room, when 
she paused, and a circle formed around her. No 
one must speak first to Majesty; accordingly, 
each one waited to be spoken to. Her address 
was now more in the style of conversation. I 
told her how much I had been disappointed in not 
being present when she prorogued Parliament, 
at which she smiled and looked pleased. The 
Duchess's civilities always followed her daugh- 
ter's. While this court of etiquette was going 
on, coffee was handed to us, still standing, and I 

254 



ESTOUTEVILLE 



must confess I cast some longing looks towards 
the soft, luxurious sofas and chairs. After the 
coffee, a folding-door was thrown open, & the 
Queen, followed by her guests, passed into a 
magnificent picture-gallery, brilliantly lighted; 
but she soon returned to the drawing-room, when, 
feeling my republican legs about to give out, I 
glided behind the door, and seated myself 
comfortably. 

" When I returned to the drawing-room, the 
gentlemen had returned and were taking coffee 
and receiving the courtesies of the Queen, who 
said something to each one. When this was 
over, she passed out of the room into one of 
smaller dimensions, where card-tables were set 
out & new sofas placed opposite to each, with 
tables and candles before them. On one of these 
Her Majesty placed herself, and invited the 
Countess Pozzo di Borgo to sit on one side of her, 
& the jNIarchioness of Salisbury to take the other. 
The Duchess of Kent sat on the other sofa, with 
the Countess Ludiff on one side, and as I held 
off, she sent a maid of honor to ask me to sit by 
her. When she conversed with me very amiably, 
I took occasion to speak of the deep interest I 
had felt in the accession of her daughter, &c., 
and when I alluded to her being the hope and the 

255 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

object of prayer to the whole nation, the mother's 
heart, I saw, was full, & her eyes, too, but of 
course I spoke with royal urieasiness. Tea was 
then handed, & afterwards the Duchess ap- 
proached a card-table & invited Lord & Lady 
Cowley (the Duke of Wellington's brother) to 
play, and also Mr. Stevenson. They drew for 
partners, and Mr. Stevenson had the honor of 
playing with her Royal Highness and of winning 
from Lord Cowley (who was obliged to play with 
his wife) 14 shillings. Whilst this game was 
going on, I had full time to look around. The 
Queen had sent her lord-in- waiting, who stood at 
the back of her sofa, for Count Pozzo di Borgo, 
and directed him to place a chair near her for him. 
The maids of honor had retired to the farther end 
of the room and taken chairs. The ladies in wait- 
ing & the invited guests had found chairs near 
our sofa, and the gentlemen stood apart, con- 
versing together. As I sat opposite the Queen, 
I had a fair opportunity of getting her face by 
heart. It is one of very sweet expression, though 
not handsome; her eyes are blue & express soft- 
ness and intelligence, but her mouth, that feature 
which always gives so much character to the 
countenance, is not good. Poor young thing! 
Whilst I gazed upon her innocent k happy face, 
my heart involuntarily offered up a prayer for 

356 



ESTOUTEVILLE 



her future happiness and prosperity. She looked 
so young, so innocent & good, I sighed to think 
of the time when that fair brow would be 
wrinkled with care, that light heart oppressed 
with sorrows, and the joyous laugh be heard no 
more. At least, if we judge of the future by the 
past, such will probably be her fate. Who would 
have thought that Marie Antoinette's bright 
morning would have ended in a night of such 
utter darkness? 

" But to return to Buckingham Palace, in all 
its light and splendour, & gorgeous magnificence, 
and to the dullness and etiquette of royalty. 
When the Duchess of Kent rose from the card- 
table, the company all rose too, save the Queen, 
who waited until we had formed a circle in the 
middle of the room, when she came forward, 
spoke again to all and each, then presented her 
soft white hand to the ladies, according to their 
rank, wished us good night, & departed. The 
Duchess repeated the ceremony, bowing and 
courtesying instead of shaking hands, and she also 
withdrew. When we were free to depart, after 
looking about and exchanging courtesies with 
each other, we were glad to find ourselves at our 
humble homes before 12. Now, my dear friends, 
I have given you a circumstantial account of this 
royal dinner, which I hope may amuse you. I 

17 257 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

assure you that even here the curiosity to know 
how these royal entertainments are conducted is 
intense. But here everything the Httle Queen 
says or does is interesting to her loyal subjects, & 
it is amusing to think, with all this outward ob- 
servance, the Queen has so little real power." 

John Coles 3rd, owner and builder of Estoute- 
ville mansion, married Selina Skipwith, daughter 
of Sir Peyton Skipwith of Prestwould, and a near 
relative to that famous Lady Skipwith whose 
wraith trips nightly about one of the most historic 
mansions in old Williamsburg. With the name 
of Coles are intermingled those of Strieker, 
Roberts, Cocke, Singleton, Rutherfoord, Carter, 
Preston, Pendleton, and Boiling. 

To the historian, the relic-lover, and the ro- 
mancist, each step about Estouteville is replete 
with surprises and delights. The great manor- 
house is draped with legend and romance as with 
the luxurious rose-vines that climb and twine 
about its porticos. The home of statesmen and 
beautiful women, the abode of hospitality and 
learning, this old plantation, the remains of an 
opulent past, bids fair to live for aons in its 
invitingly picturesque location ; for the gods were 
kind to Albemarle County, and seem to have 
given to Estouteville a life and setting far be- 
yond the reach of many noble homes. 

26% 



MONTPELIER 




pLTHOUGH the maj- 
ority of the most 
famous country-seats 
of Vh-ginia were in 
Tidewater, occasion- 
ally some of the old 
Colonists depart- 
ed from this seeming 
rule and sought inland estates, partly for the 
grandeur of hill and mountain scenery, and 
again for the rich productions of the soil. 

In the year 1653 John Madison, presumably 
the first of the name in Virginia, obtained lands 
in Gloucester County, near York River, which 
were inherited by his son, John Madison 2nd. 

Ambrose jNIadison, the son of the second John, 
without regretting the paternal acres, felt the call 
of the hill country, and in 1723, with Thomas 
Chew, patented 4675 acres of land in what was 
then Spottsylvania, but became Orange County 
nine years later, in 1732. 

In 1721 he had married Frances Taylor, 
daughter of James Taylor, a collateral ancestor 

259 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

of Zachary Taylor, and one of the first settlers 
in Orange, as well as a very prominent man in the 
Colony. James, the son of Ambrose and Frances 
Taylor Madison, mherited most of the Chew- 
Madison patent, and by purchase at different 
times acquired the whole, which has come down in 
history as Montpelier, the home of the fourth 
President of the United States. 

James Madison, in 1749, married Eleanor 
Rose Conway, daughter of Francis and Rebecca 
Catlett Conway of Port Conway, King George 
County, and it was there that James Madison, 
Jr., was born, March 6, 1751, though his parents 
were then living at Montpelier. 

The estate took its name from Montpellier, 
France, and was always spelled in that way by 
the Madisons. The mansion erected by James 
Madison, Sr., in 1756 was the first brick dwelling 
in that locality, and was a plain rectangular 
structure cut in half by a wide hall, on either side 
of which were two rooms. 

After the marriage of James Madison to Mrs. 
Dorothy Payne Todd, in 1794, plans for re- 
modelling were considered, and were executed in 
1809, the original building now forming but the 
central portion of the large manor-house, to 
which the wings built by Madison were attached 

360 



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IB^I 


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19 



nr 




MONTPELIER 



by a later touch. The first addition was under 
the direction of William Thornton, who drew the 
first accepted plans of the United States Capitol, 
and the architecture, as it is seen to-day, displays 
the symmetrical proportion of the old temples, 
some one of which doubtless inspired it. Mont- 
pelier breathes at once simplicity and hospitality, 
allied to impressiveness. 

In this homestead Madison seemed to solve a 
question that from time immemorial has been 
unanswered, WTcaking havoc in only too many 
otherwise happy homes. Realizing the truth of 
the saying that no two families could live har- 
moniously under the same roof, but being devoted 
to his mother, whom he wanted always with him, 
Madison had apartments built for her that were 
entirely separate from his own. 

In the basement were two kitchens, one for his 
mother and one for himself. On the first floor 
was his mother's suite, consisting of drawing- 
room, dining-room, and two bedchambers, while 
the great drawing-room, library, dining-room, 
study, and office were the President's part of the 
floor. Madison's fad being statuary, in one of 
these rooms could be seen sculptures from the 
hands of famous men. 

In the second story were eight enormous, high- 

361 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

ceiled rooms, fitted with the Empire furniture of 
the period. In the President's own chamber was 
the four-post bed with crimson satin canopy- 
brought by James Monroe from the Tuileries. 
All told, there were twenty-two rooms in the 
mansion, besides the servants' quarters, which 
were in another building. The ample wine- 
cellar which underruns the house bespeaks the 
entertaining which was so great a feature of the 
estate in its early days. For this Montpelier was 
one of the best equipped mansions of the old 
regime, and perhaps the design of the architect 
was drawn mainly to that end. 

And in all the f eastings and gay doings it was 
Dolly Madison who was the central figure. Much 
has been written of this first lady of the land, 
noted not only for great beauty but for mar- 
vellous tact as well, and who, one writer tells us, 
was through four administrations the most com- 
manding figure in Washington society. 

Dorothy Payne was the granddaughter of 
John Payne, an English gentleman who married 
Anna Fleming, who is alleged to have been 
descended from the Earl of Wigton, of the 
Scotch nobility. Their son, John Payne, moved 
to North Carolina, where he married Mary Coles, 

daughter of William Coles from Wexford 

m<2 



MONTPELIER 



County, Ireland, but returning to Virginia set- 
tled in Hanover County. * 

Dolly Madison was twenty-five when she 
married the second time, and of her life at Mont- 
pelier a gifted pen has left the following annota- 
tion: "It is a striking comment upon Mrs. 
Madison's character that she could find happiness 
and contentment amid such simple surroundings 
and occupations. A vainer woman would have 
been miserable at the withdrawal of the adulation 
which had followed her for a score of years. A 
weaker woman would have sighed for the excite- 
ments of town life. Dolly Madison neither 
sighed nor moped, but set about living in these 
changed surroundings with a steady serenity, and 
the cheerfulness of a healthy mind conscious of 
resources within itself, and capable of setting its 
own tasks and making its own pleasures." 

One of her chief delights was in caring for the 
terraced garden laid out by Madison just before 
his retirement from public life. This series of 
terraces, in the form of a great horseshoe, was 
meant to represent in size and shape the House 
of Representatives in Washington. Stiff box- 
wood hedges edge each terrace, bright with the 
bloom and blossom of many exquisite plants. 

The ice-house, built in 1809 to suit a whim of 

263 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

the fair Dolly, was the first ever seen in that sec- 
tion, and brought wonder and incredulity to the 
minds of the country folk, who refused to believe 
that ice cut in the winter could be kept through 
the gleaming heat of summer. Chroniclers tell 
that the President, in order to convince his over- 
seer, made a wager with him of ice for a mint 
julep on the Fourth of July against a Christmas 
turkey. We have never been told the result, but 
it is pleasing to fancy the skeptical foreman 
breaking the ice for his julep and feeding the 
finest gobbler for his master's Christmas dinner. 

The lines of this little building are more those 
of a Grecian temple than of a common or garden 
ice-house, and the upper part, with its dome roof 
and slender columns, is still used as a summer- 
house. 

The same avenue of pine-trees leads north of 
the mansion to the circular colonnade. 

Madison, being one of the most liberal of 
men, gave a long remembered lawn fete at 
Montpelier just after his retirement, to which 
tradition says every family in Orange was bidden^ 
as well as numerous guests from farther away. 
Heavily laden and beautifully decorated tables 
were placed thickly throughout the grounds, 

364 



MONTPELIER 



while those for the most distinguished guests were 
laid within the house. 

Standing to-day, a solitary visitor, on the spot 
made merry that day, one realizes vividly the 
beauty of the scene, which, once the inspiration 
of poets, is now but a bit of history. Beyond 
the lawn, dotted with wide-spreading chestnuts 
and walnuts, stretch in sweeping undulations the 
meadow lands fringed by the forest below. Still 
farther away, though twelve or more miles in the 
distance, the main range of the Blue Ridge 
Mountains are visible, rising majestically to the 
arch of heaven. At the feet is a carpet of gold- 
eyed daisies, fair blossoms coming no one knows 
why nor how. Nature was prodigal in her gifts 
to Montpelier, and begrudged neither color nor 
form. 

Like JeiFerson before and Monroe afterward, 
Madison suffered from too many guests, of 
whom he said, " Some were bounties and others 
taxes." As the home of a public man, Mont- 
pelier was never without many visitors, who came 
and stayed whether asked or not. The follow- 
ing letter written by Mrs. Madison in 1820 gives 
a good idea of the way they were imposed upon: 
" Yesterday we had ninety persons to dine with 

265 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

us, at one table, fixed on the lawn, under a large 
arbor. The dinner was profuse and handsome, 
and the company very orderly. Many of your 
old acquaintances were here — among them the 
two Barbours. We had no ladies except Mother 
Madison, Mrs. Macon, and Nellie Willis. The 
day was cool and all pleasant. Half a dozen 
only staid all night, and are now about to depart. 
President Monroe's letter this morning an- 
nounces the French Minister ; we expect him this 
evening, or perhaps sooner, though he may not 
come until to-morrow ; but I am less worried here 
with a hundred visitors than with twenty-five in 
Washington." 

It was to one of these many guests that Madi- 
son, always a good talker and a man of refined 
wit and humor, made the now celebrated play 
upon words. Being at this time very feeble, the 
ex-President, who was on a couch in his library, 
requested his caller to take a chair near him, 
adding, " Strange as it may appear, I always talk 
better when I lie." 

Madison died June 28, 1836, at the age of 
eighty-four, and was buried in the old graveyard 
at Montpelier, where he had spent the majority 
of every year of his life. His tomb, erected 



]MONTPELIER 



about 1856 by private subscription, bears the sim- 
ple inscription: 

" Madison. 
Born March 16, 1751. 
Died June 28, 1836." 

It may still be seen, in a setting of riotous blue 
myrtle and sombre ivy, and as June follows June, 
marking anew the anniversary, the roses near him 
bloom their brightest, bending in fragrant saluta- 
tion towards the marble monolith. 

One who had lived in the house with this man 
of parts, who had been his guest and played his 
host, has left perhaps the most natural description 
of the mere man apart from the statesman: 
" Mr. Madison was small in stature, but in every 
respect a well-bred Virginia gentleman, very hos- 
pitable and liberal in his entertainments, with 
great powers of conversation, replete with anec- 
dotes, and well constituted to shine in society. 
He dressed in the old style, wore powder, small- 
clothes, and buckles, and was unostentatious in 
his manners and mode of life." 

Montpelier, with all other personal property, 
was left to Mrs. Madison, whose brightest days 
were over, as from then on her life was sorely 

267 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

troubled by her worthless, wayward son, Payne 
Todd. After a life of more than eighty years, 
the much-loved, much-courted Dolly Madison 
breathed her last, July 8, 1849, and now she 
sleeps beside her " great little Madison " in one 
corner of the old graveyard. Above the low 
brick wall, mossy with age, rises the simple white 
marble obelisk placed by her nephew, Richard 
Cutts, and inscribed: 

"In 

Memory 

of 

Dolley Payne 

wife of 
James Madison 

Born 
May 20th, 1768. 

Died 
July 8th, 1849.'* 

The spacious grounds of Montpelier are now 
more beautiful than ever, for a gilded wand has 
been waved above them in latter years. But 
many of the old landmarks still remain, and 
across the rear lawn yet stands the gabled stable 
built by Madison, in a grove of trees. 

The path which leads up to the garden terraces 

268 



MONTPELIER 



is bordered with the old boxwood hedges, now five 
or six feet in height, and from the upper terrace 
is the same unrivalled view of the ninety-mile 
chain of mountains, the cones of which cut 
sharply into the sky. 

The estate has changed hands more than once 
since it left the Madison family, but the present 
owner takes the same pride in the beautiful acres 
and charming old mansion as they who placed its 
name in history, to live long after their call had 
come. 



BERRY HILL 




HE many acres of the 
Berry Hill estate, in 
Halifax County, date 
back to the time of 
the redskins, from 
whom they were 
claimed by Colonel 
William Byrd of 
Westover, who first saw their beauty and appre- 
ciated their value in 17*28, when he was one of 
the Commissioners who ran the boundary line 
between Virginia and North Carolina. 

In his " Westover Manuscripts " it probably 
is to a part of this very estate that Colonel Byrd 
refers when he says: " All the land we travell'd 
over this day, and the day before, that is to say 
from the river Irvin to Sable Creek, is exceed- 
ingly rich, both on the Virginia Side of the Line 
and that of Carolina. Besides whole Forests of 
Canes, that adorn the Banks of the Rivers and 
Creeks thereabouts, the fertility of the Soil 
throws out such a quantity of Winter Grass, that 
Horses and Cattle might keep themselves in 

270 



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BERRY HILL 



Heart all the cold Season without the help of any 
Fodder. Xor have the low Grounds only this 
advantage, but likewise the Higher Land, and 
particularly that which we call the Highland 
Pond, which is two miles broad and of a length 
unknown. 

" I question not but there are 30,000 Acres, at 
least, lying Altogether as fertile as the lands were 
said to be about Babylon, which yielded, if He- 
rodotus tells us right, an increase of not less than 
two or three hundred for one. But this hath the 
Advantage of being a higher, and consequently a 
much healthier Situation than that. So that a 
Colony of one thousand families might, with the 
help of moderate Industry, pass their time very 
happily there. 

" Besides grazing and Tillage, which would 
abundantly compensate their Labour, they might 
plant Vineyards upon the Hills, in which Situ- 
ation the richest Wines are always produc'd. 

" They might also propagate white JNIulberry 
Trees, which thrive exceedingly in this climate, in 
order to the feeding of silk-worms, and making 
of Raw Silk. 

" They might, too, produce Hemp, Flax, and 
Cotton, in what quantity they pleas'd, not only 
for their own use, but likewise for Sale. Then 

271 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

they might raise very plentiful Orchards, of both 
Peaches and Apples, which contribute as much 
as any fruit to the Luxury of Life. There is no 
Soil or Climate will yield better Rice than this, 
which is a Grain of prodigious Increase, and of 
very wholesome Nourishment. In short, every- 
thing will grow plentifully here to supply either 
the Wants or Wantonness of Man." 

This seemingly incomparable tract was 
granted the North Carolina Commissioners for 
their services, and from them Colonel Byrd pur- 
chased it, calling it " the Land of Eden." Colo- 
nel Byrd sold part of the land to Richard Bland, 
who in turn conveyed it to Governor Benjamin 
Harrison, of Berkeley. 

An old deed is still preserved at Berry Hill, 
giving the documentary history of the estate 
from the time of Colonel Byrd. This deed was 
given by Governor Harrison to the Honorable 
Isaac Coles, and states that the lands therein sold 
were formerly " the property of the Honorable 
William Byrd of Westover, and by him sold and 
conveyed to Richard Bland, Esq., bearing date 
the sixteenth day of April, seventeen hundred 
and fifty-one." 

The Honorable Isaac Coles, the grantee of the 
aforesaid deed, sold the plantation to his nephew, 

272 



BERRY HILL 



i Isaac H. Coles, who left it to his nephew, Gen- 
eral Edward Carrington, a son of Mildred Coles 
and Judge Paul Carrington, of Revolutionary 
fame. The tombs of these last are still to be seen 
at Berry Hill. About 1785 the estate was 
bought from General Carrington by James C. 
Bruce, son of James Bruce, whose wife, Sarah 
Coles, was the sister of General Carrington's 
mother, and it is under the Bruce regime that its 
fame has been established. 

The ancestry of the Bruces can be traced back 
to Scotland, from which place came James Bruce, 
the friend, and some say relative or connection, 
of Governor Spotswood. This James Bruce, 
while perhaps not the first of the name in Amer- 
ica, was descended from Edward, Baron Bruce, 
the favorite of King James I. and ancestor of 
the families now possessing the titles of Elgin 
and Aylesbury. By marriage with one of the 
Earls of Devonshire, the daughter of Edward 
Bruce brought the family into still greater 
prominence. 

This Earl of Devonshire was actively inter- 
ested in the affairs of the London Company, so 
it seems probable that Walter, William, and 
George Bruce, who came to Virginia about the 
middle of the seventeenth century, were induced 

18 273 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

to emigrate at the advice of their kinsman. As 
the name of Lady Devonshire was " Christian," 
one rather unusual for a woman, but which 
appears frequently among the Kinloss Bruces, 
and as the same name was borne by a grand- 
daughter of George Bruce, of the Northern 
Neck of Virginia, another link in the chain of 
evidence proving the families of the same blood 
seems to be established. 

George Bruce was born in 1640, and the first 
record of him in Virginia is in 1668, when he pur- 
chased from William Pierce 180 acres of land in 
the Northern Neck. Several old papers show 
the names of his children, and among them that 
of Hensfield points to the belief that his wife was 
a daughter of Captain Robert Hensfield, of 
Salem, Massachusetts. His will states, " My 
plantation whereon I now live, with all the land, 
houses, orchards, fences, and other appurtenances 
whatsoever, thereunto belonging," are bequeathed 
to his youngest son, John. As the rest of his 
children had been provided for during his life- 
time, their inheritance consisted of one shilling 
each. John was also bequeathed all his " per- 
sonal estate, household goods, cattle, horses, 
mares, hoggs, debts, creditts, goods and chattells 
of what nature or kind soever." 

374 



BERRY HILL 



Charles, the brother of John Bruce, is heard 
of in 1731 as being in Richmond County, and 
in 1747 is spoken of as in " Brunswick Parish, 
King George County." According to family 
history, he married a Miss Pannill, leaving on his 
death in 1754 three daughters and two sons, 
Charles and William. Charles, who was born 
about 1740, resided at Soldier's Rest, in Orange 
County, an estate originally a part of that owned 
by Governor Spotswood and bought from his 
executors. 

According to tradition, Charles Bruce was the 
manager of one of Spotsw^ood's numerous plan- 
tations, at a salary of one hundred pounds 
sterling a year, and from this small beginning he 
accumulated a good estate. The handsome por- 
trait now in the possession of Mrs. Richards, of 
Knoxville, Tennessee, is probably of Charles of 
Soldier's Rest, or his father, Charles of King 
George, rather than of James Bruce, spoken of 
as the Immigrant. This portrait, which for 
nearly a century hung on the walls of Green 
Bank, the home of Mrs. Frances Bruce Banks in 
Stafford, was taken to Mississippi in 1837, when 
Mrs. Banks moved there. From her it was in- 
herited by a daughter, from whom it went to 
Mrs. William H. Richards. Being a portrait of 

275 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

extraordinary merit, it was undoubtedly painted 
abroad, and represents an extremely handsome 
man with clear-cut patrician features. 

Charles Bruce of Soldier's Rest married twice, 
Diana Banks being his first wife, and Frances 
Stubblefield, daughter of Colonel George Stub- 
blefield of the Revolutionary Ai'my, his second. 
The family Bible at Berry Hill records the birth 
of the sons of Charles and Diana Banks Bruce, 
James in 1763, Henry in 1764, and Charles in 
1768. 

James, the heir-at-law of Soldier's Rest, find- 
ing that Halifax County afforded more money- 
making advantages, moved there, where he spent 
the rest of his life. In August, 1799, soon after 
his arrival in Halifax, he married Miss Sally 
Coles, who was not only celebrated as a wit, but 
was the greatest heiress of that section of Vir- 
ginia, being the daughter of Walter Coles, Esq. 
This ceremony was performed hastily to gratify 
the wish of the bride's dying brother, her only 
relative. Among those who witnessed it was 
Mrs. Elvira Cabell Henry, widow of Patrick 
Henry, Jr., and as the time was too limited to 
secure another ring, her wedding-ring was used. 
Curiously enough, in 1819, Mrs. Henry became 

07G 



BERRY HILL 



the second wife of Mr. Bruce, his first having 
died thirteen years previously. 

On his death, in 1832, his estate was valued at 
more than $4,000,000, one of the greatest for- 
tunes in the country, which was left to his four 
children, one of the heirs being James Coles 
Bruce, who brought Berry Hill into the family. 

Born January 26, 1806, James Coles Bruce 
was educated at the University of Virginia and 
at Harvard. At an early age he was brought 
into public life, where, though he never coveted 
political laurels, he was always prominent. 
Though the present Berry Hill mansion was 
built in Colonial days, it was remodelled by Mr. 
Bruce about 1840, after his marriage to Eliza 
Wilkins, daughter of William Wilkins, of North 
Carolina. 

This dwelling, of purelj'' Grecian lines, is one 
of the most superb examples of Colonial archi- 
tecture, not only of the South, but of America at 
large. The walls, three feet thick, extending 
from basement to roof, are of white cemented 
brick, and the eight massive Ionic columns up- 
holding the front portico rise from a series of 
stone steps seventy feet wide. The beautiful 
entrance-hall is twenty-five feet wide and forty 

277 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

deep, and claims the most striking feature of 
the interior, the impressive and graceful stairway 
which ascends from the heavy doors at either side. 
The solid mahogany staircase, with hand-turned 
balustrades, meets near the ceiling, continuing as 
one to the upper floor. In the drawing-room 
and library exquisite mantels of hand-carved 
Italian marble are particularly noticeable, and 
generations of family portraits gaze from the 
ample walls. In the former room hangs the 
likeness of the founder of the great estate, whose 
gentle, kindly face, with deep-set, intellectual 
eyes, is pictured long in the memorj-. The firm 
mouth and chin bear out what all the world says 
of this high-stocked gentleman of the old school. 

Among other valuable treasures at Berry Hill 
is the great collection of silver, of finest and 
heaviest design. One writer states that even the 
bowls and pitchers of the sleeping-rooms boasted 
the precious metal. The same interesting writer 
tells us: " Here Mr. Bruce lived, like the lord 
of an English manor, in the midst of hundreds of 
slaves and adherents of all kinds — a sort of 
feudal chief on his great landed estate and in his 
county — where he was equally feared and 
admired." 

From the rear of the mansion a colonnade of 

278 



BERRY HILL 



two hundred feet extends, the floor, in common 
with that of the basement, like the steps, being 
of stone quarried on the place. Equidistant 
from the front of the mansion, presenting a 
dignified and classic effect, are the billiard-room 
and office, which, placed on either side, are 
miniature repetitions of the manor-house, to 
which they are linked by great boxwood hedges. 
The grounds of this estate of 3600 acres are 
approached through a long line of stately ailan- 
thus trees, the boughs of which droop pro- 
tectingly over an artificial lake. The gently 
undulating lawn is enclosed in a picturesque 
stone wall, over which Virginia creeper riots in 
rich profusion and woodbine clambers with 
envious hold. But the pibce de resistance of the 
grounds and gardens is the wonderful lilac hedge 
of unknown age which interlines the boundary 
wall, casting a wealth of fragrant glory from 
white and purple blossoms when the May sun 
shines its brightest. Pebbly walks and wider 
driveways lead everywhere, under oaks of every 
description, maples and lindens, elms and syca- 
mores. Hardy hickory and giant pecan trees, 
waxen-leaved hollies and gnarled catalpas, lend 
their shade, in contrast to the delicate mimosa, 
which shrinks at the merest touch. Off by itself 

279 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

in one corner, a proud old oak of century growth 
is swathed and draped with English ivy, which 
clings to the farthest spreading branches and 
affectionately clasps the monster trunk. 

The twenty acres of the vast lawn roll on all 
sides of the mansion, finally losing themselves in 
the forests and fields beyond. Violets and 
anemones, whispering pines and myriad birds, 
convince the most obdurate pessimist that this is 
truly the valley of Eden, the true land of man's 
delight. 

Mr. Bruce was not only successful from a 
pecuniary point of view ; wherever he was known 
his name stood for all that was best and noblest. 
A distinguished contemporary speaks of him as 
*' the justest and most honorable man " he ever 
knew. At the beginning of the war his estate 
was valued at millions of dollars, one item alone 
being more than 3000 slaves. Just before the 
close of the war the master of all these fair lands 
died with few regrets, saying that he " felt a grim 
satisfaction in leaving the world at that time, as 
he knew that nothing but ruin was in store for 
his class." Berry Hill was inherited by his third 
son, Alexander, who married Mary Evelyn 
Anderson, a famous beauty, the daughter of 
Judge Francis T. Anderson of Lexington, and 

980 



BERRY HILL 



she it is who is now chatelaine of the hospitable 
manor-house. 

Standing in the shade of the classic portico 
which has been trodden bj'^ the great men of a 
century dead, the world is at one's feet; the 
mountains range like heavy billows, while the 
deep and shadowy valleys spread between. The 
fields and woods are in an eternal rivalry of 
charm, and over all the unbroken arch of the 
heavens melts into illimitable space through 
gradations of gray or blue. 

In the Berry Hill mansion and acres, so well 
cherished and preserved to-day, are still seen 
traces of the early owner's thought, who by his 
life disproved the old proverb that the most diffi- 
cult of all tasks is to live life well in a palace. 



OATLANDS 




? N picturesque Loud- 
oun County, that sec- 
tion of Virginia dear 
to the hearts of hunts- 
men, on the old turn- 
pike, about six miles 
west of Leesburg, lies 
the 5000 acre estate of 
Oatlands, another of the famous Carter home- 
steads. These lands were part of a 63,093 acre 
tract bought by Councillor Robert Carter from 
Lord Fairfax in 1776. 

The history of the Carter family is too well 
known to be sketched but briefly here. Councillor 
Carter having been the son of Robert Carter and 
Priscilla Churchill, and the most renowned 
grandson of the " King." He married Frances 
Tasker, the notice of the wedding which ap- 
peared in the old Maryland Gazette of Thursday, 
April 4, 1745, reading: " On Tuesday last Mr. 
Robert Carter of Westmoreland in Virginia was 
married by the Rev. Mr. Malcolm to Miss 
Frances Tasker, youngest daughter of the Hon. 

98'? 



OATLANDS 



Benjamin Tasker, Esq., a fine young lady with 
a genteel fortune." 

The vast estates of Robert Carter, which ex- 
tended along the Potomac and Rappahannock 
through many counties, made him one of the 
largest land-owners of Virginia, and though for 
part of every year his office caused him to live in 
Williamsburg, his happiest months were those 
spent on his superb domain. 

Councillor Carter is described as a man of 
ample qualifications seconded by great wealth. 
In religion, though a bit fanatical, he was thor- 
oughly sincere. Many stories are told portray- 
ing his noble charity, and he it was who proved 
the unchanging friend of poor Selim, the pic- 
turesque Algerian whose life is sketched by 
Bishop Meade. 

From old letters and manuscripts still in the 
possession of the family, his most intimate 
associates are seen to have been the Washingtons, 
George Wythe, Peyton Randolph, Governor 
Fauquier, and John Page. 

The portrait painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds 
when the Councillor was in London in 1749 
represents him in a fancy costume of the Van 
Dyck period, the puckered satin of which is 
relieved by the priceless lace collar and high cuffs. 

28S 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

The domino has slipped back from his shoulders, 
and the mask is held in one of his slender, taper- 
ing hands, the inheritance of his race. In the 
large portrait of his wife, Frances Tasker, the 
rich folds of the satin gown still shimmer from 
the canvas. Exquisite lace ruffles edge the 
elbow-sleeves, a bit of the same being introduced 
in the low-cut neck, and the chief touch of color is 
in the rich blue scarf thrown carelessly over her 
right shoulder. 

Among the Carter letters, the most interesting 
of the Councillor's, from a view-point of history, 
was written in 1776, when Dunmore was trying 
to rob the planters of their slaves : 

"Friday, 12th July, 1776: His Majesty's 
ship the Roe-buck and about 60 sail arrived in 
Potomack River; this fleet came to between the 
mouth of Yeocomico River and Saint Mary's 
River. Saturday, ye 13th of the same month, I, 
R. C, went to my Plantation, commonly called 
Cole's Point, situate upon Potomack River about 
nine miles above Yeocomico River, and directed 
Matthew Leonard, overseer, to collect together 
most of my slaves under him, to whom I made 
a speech, and I observed therein that the King of 
Great Britain had declared war against the peo- 
ple of the Colony of Virginia, New Hampshire, 

984 



S. c 

Z. ^ 

:;• r 

c O 

.2 2 

O fO 





OATLANDS 



Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New 
Castle, Maryland, North Carolina, South Caro- 
lina, and Georgia; that Lord Dunmore had the 
command of the King's Army and Fleet in Vir- 
ginia; that part of the said Fleet, consisting of 
about 60 sail, was now to be seen from Ragged 
Point; that many of the people in Great Britain 
disapproved of the present dispute between them 
and the 13 United Colonies in North America, 
and had refused to enlist as soldiers; — therefore 
the King of G. B. had employed foreign soldiers 
to fight for him against us ; that Lord Dimmore 
had called upon the black people in North 
America to join him, and he has declared that all 
white indented servants and slaves who may run 
away from their masters and enter into the 
King's service shall be free; that their masters 
shall have no further claim whatever against 
them. Question: If the King should be vic- 
torious in the present war, had Lord Dunmore 
honesty to perform that part of his Declaration 
respecting the Slaves, but will he not sell them 
to white people living in the West Indies who are 
now friends and subjects of G. B.? 

" I further say that since the publication of 
Lord D.'s Declaration relative to Slaves and 

285 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

Servants, that numbers of both sorts have joined 
him. — Titles, appellations of dignity, given to 
some white people in Great Britain and else- 
where, the origin thereof explained. Question 
put to the black People: Do any of ye dislike 
your present condition of life, or do wish to 
enter into Lord D.'s service and trust to the conse- 
quences ? Answer of the black People : ' We do 
not wish to enter into Lord D.'s service to fight 
against ye white People of the 13 United 
Provinces, but we all fully intend to serve you 
our Master, and we do now promise to use our 
whole might and force to execute your com- 
mands.' — The only order I shall now mention, is 
that if any of Lord Dunmore's party of men 
should land in Cole's Point tract of land, that ye 
black men take your wives, children, male and 
female acquaintances, clothes, bedding, and tools, 
removing all into private places away from the 
rivers Potomack and Machotoc, and send a 
person off to Nomony Hall immediately to ad- 
vise me at what place ye are gotten too, and I will 
then give directions tending for your immediate 
rehef." 

Of Councillor Carter Bishop Meade says: 
" Early in life his disposition was marked by a 
tendency to wit and humor. Afterwards he was 

286 



o > 
— X 




OATLANDS 



the grave Councillor, and always the generous 
philanthropist. At a later day he became 
scrupulous as to the holding of slaves, and 
manumitted great numbers. The subject of re- 
ligion then engrossed his thoughts. . . . All the 
while he was a most benevolent and amiable man. 
I might mention many others, of both sexes, with 
whom I have had personal and intimate acquaint- 
ance, who have been beautiful specimens of piety, 
without the versatility and inconsistency of Mr. 
Carter." 

When George Carter, the youngest son of 
Robert Carter, became of age, in 1798, the Coun- 
cillor gave him the estate of Oatlands, and in 
1800 George Carter erected the present palatial 
manor-house. 

The bricks of which the mansion is built were 
made on the plantation, and are hidden beneath 
a wash of cement, laid in blocks. Being his own 
architect, Mr. Carter has left an unquestioned 
monument to his genius in that respect, as Oat- 
lands mansion is both substantial in appearance 
and more compact than most of the houses of 
that period. Crowning a terrace, the three-story 
central building is flanked with two-story wings 
attached directly to it on either side, and from 
each of these a pentagonal bow extends, the 

S87 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

additions having flat-topped roofs in keeping 
with that of the main part. The impressive 
front portico is supported on six Corinthian 
columns, the same Grecian lines being repeated in 
the pilasters. 

Though built shortly after Colonial days, the 
influence of that delightful period is shown in 
the spacious rooms with lofty ceilings, while the 
arched entrance doorways of the centre hall are 
duplicates of those in the older houses. Rare 
furniture, old prints, and portraits adorn the 
interior, and though the hand of wealth has 
touched it, modernizing it as far as comfort is 
concerned, all of the old features have been either 
retained or restored, and to-day Colonial sim- 
plicity dominates the mansion in every way. 

The entrance to the Oatlands grounds, which 
have much the appearance of an English park, is 
through a gateway of square brick columns sur- 
mounted by huge stone baUs; through this the 
driveway passes, ending around the well-mown 
circle, in the centre of which a proud-crested 
magnolia rears its head. Trees of many varieties 
are dotted over the ample lawn, and some yards 
to the right of the house a grove of oaks and 
maples shades densely the thick turfing at its feet. 

George Carter was a very cultivated man, to 

288 



OATLANDS 



whom the finer things of life appealed most 
forcibly. Being self-sufficient, and living in 
peace and comfort on his beautiful estate, he did 
not marry until the age of sixty, his wife being 
Kate Powell. 

On his death, in 1846, the mansion and 3000 
acres were inherited by his youngest son, of the 
same name. But troubles and debts came with 
the war, and when the manor-house and grounds 
were sold to Mr. Stilson Hutchins of Washing- 
ton in 1894, restoration was much needed 
throughout the place. The beautiful terraced 
gardens, the pride of the first George Carter's 
heart, and laid out by him, were a mass of tangled 
shrubbery and rose- vines. Here and there some 
quaint old flower still bloomed in shrunken glory, 
piteously pleading for a look of recognition or 
a touch of attention for auld lang syne. The 
crumbling walls and struggling blossoms served 
but to add to the atmosphere of romance, born 
of thoughts of the gay laughter which once rang 
through them and the high-heeled slippers that 
tripped merrily along. 

Since the estate was acquired by Mr. William 
C. Eustis in 1903, it has responded to the touch 
of Midas, and now once more the garden terraces 
are free of all but the most perfect care. 

19 289 



COLONIAL MANORS of VIRGINIA 

The upper terrace which surrounds the man- 
sion is enclosed in a balustrade of Italian design, 
and upon it grow stately Lombardy poplars, 
evergreen firs, and maple-trees, with rose-vines 
growing with reckless freedom everywhere. The 
brick wall dropping vertically to the second ter- 
race is fringed with ivy that hangs from above, 
and here the garden is a strangely beautiful 
affair. Boxwood hedges the precise little flower- 
beds, interlined sometimes with tufts of yellow 
cowslips. Honeysuckle rambles over balustrade 
and arbor, rendering the air fragrant throughout 
the summer months. Growing demurely in their 
box-bordered squares, violets, the daintiest prom- 
ise of early spring, are rivalled by golden 
jonquils that, once planted, bloom year after year 
when the trees first bud and the birds begin to 
nest. Sweet-peas spread joyously over their 
borders, while in the midst of the riot of color 
white lilies lift their pure faces in benediction 
over the less stately buds and blossoms. Pink- 
rosetted hollyhocks stand like sentinels guarding 
all. White althea and purple lilacs grow in clus- 
ters, among which here and there a snowball tree 
scatters a wealth of snowy petals in the wonderful 
month of May. And everywhere are roses, 
climbing, twining, blooming with reckless free- 

290 




REAR VIEW AT OATLANDS 
Sliowins the liiinging gardens 




illi: HAM, AT OATI.ANDS 



OATLANDS 



dom, rendering parts of the garden a charming 
tangle of glowing bloom. 

The wall which drops from the lower terrace 
to the lawn is of brick also, but upon a stone 
foundation. Ivy and ampelopsis festoon the 
wall and rocky bottom, clinging to the white 
balustrade that guards the terrace above. The 
entire grounds are now enclosed in a low fence in 
keeping with the balustrade, broken at regular 
intervals with red brick columns. 

Mr. Eustis, who married Miss Morton, daugh- 
ter of the Honorable Levi P. Morton, Vice- 
President of the United States, in 1888, is one of 
the best-known figures in social, diplomatic, and 
hunting circles of the country. 

The rich acres of Oatlands are now a famous 
stock-farm, where many imported and home-bred 
horses are shown with pride by their owner. 
And seeing the peace and plenty that envelop 
the estate on every side, one cannot but feel that 
the brilliant and eccentric Councillor, that early 
Virginian who had education, money, and time, 
would rest content could he but know the beauti- 
ful fate of his Oatlands acres under a mind and 
master whose talents and qualifications repeat his 
own. 



INDEX 



Abingdon, 106 

Adams, John Quincy, 33, 

38, 2i0 
Albemarle County, 122 
Albemarle, Duke of, 155 
Alexander, Mary, 27 
Alfred the Great, 174. 
Allen, Joseph, 123 
Alston, Governor, 155 
Ambler, Jaquelin, 180 
Anbury, 146 
Anderson, Judge Francis 

T., 280 
Anderson, Mary Evelyn, 

280 
Antoinette, Marie, 257 
Apollo, the, 180 
Appomattox River, 1 ] 5 
Argyll, Duke of, 155 
Armistead, Elizabeth, 26 
Armistead, Judith, 21, 130 
Armistead, Miss, 22 
Armistead, Robert, l64 
Arnold, Benedict, 138, 146, 

157 
Athens of Virginia, 90 
Aylesbury, 273 
Avletts, 210 



B 

Bacon, 71 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 123, 174 
Bacon's Rebellion, 70 
Bailey, Fleming, 50 
Baker, Thomas, 63 
Baltimore, Lord, 105 
Banks, Diana, 276 
Banks, Mrs. Frances Bruce, 

275 
Barbour, 196 
Barbours, 266 
Barclay, George, 239 
Bardolph, 42, 43 
Barton, Lieut. Seth, 60 
Barton, Thomas S., 60 
Barye, 58 

Baylor, Lucy Page, 181 
Baylor, Mary Whiting, 67 
Beckman, Mrs., l66 
Bedell, Dorothy, 172 
Bedell, William, 173 
Bedford, 151 
Belinda, 180 
Benger, Anne, 67 
Berkeley, Governor, 70 
Berkeley, Sir William, 79, 

134 
Berkeley s, 22 



293 



INDEX 



Bermuda Hundred, 116 
Berry Hill, 270-281 
Beverly, 78 
Beverly, James Bradshaw, 

77 
Beverly, Mary, 72 
Beverly, Robert, 38, 44, 70, 

71, 72, 75 
Beverly, Robert, 2nd, 73 
Beverly, Susanna, 116 
Beverly, Thomas de, 70 
Beverly, William, 70, 73, 

76, 77 
Bird, Hugo, Le, 135 
Bisland, Mrs. Margaret 

Buchan, 181 
Bisland, Mr. Pereival, 181 
Blackburns, 108 
Blair, Commissary, 175 
Bland, Elizabeth Randolph, 

73 
Bland, Richard, 272 
Bland, Theodorick, 135 
Blandfield, 69-78 
Boiling, 258 
Boiling, Lucy, 131 
Boone, Daniel, 230 
Booth, Dr. E. G., 181 
Booth, Humphrey, 64 
Booth, James, 73 
Booth, Thomas, 203 
Boydell, 31 
Boyle, Charles, 144 
Braddock, 233 



Branch, Mary, 216 
Branch, William, 2l6 
Brandon, 149-158 
Brandon Church, 156 
Brandywine, 237 
Bransford, Alice Carter, 

133 
Braxton, Carter, 211, 212 
Braxton, George, 211 
Braxton, Mary, 133 
Braxtons, 22 
Brent, Sarah, 94 
Brewster, Elder Wm., 147 
Brocas, Eleanor, 19 
Brooke, 63 
Brooke, Catherine, 66 
Brooke, Governor Robert, 

64 
Brooke, John, 67 
Brooke, Mary, 65 
Brooke, Robert, 63, 64, 66 
Brooke, Robert, Knight of 

the Golden Horseshoe, 65 
Brooke, Sarah, 67 
Brooke, Sarah Taliaferro, 

67 
Brooke, William Hill, 68 
Brooke, William Thornton, 

68 
Brooke's Bank, 63-68 
Browne, Sir Anthony, 212 
Browne, William Burnett, 

221, 213 
Bruce, Baron, 273 



294 



INDEX 



Bruce, Charles, 275, 276 
Bruce, Diana Banks, 276 
Bruce, George, 273, 274 
Bruce, James, 273 
Bruce, James Coles, 273, 

277 
Bruce, John, 275 
Bruce, Mr., 278, 280 
Bruce, Walter, 273 
Bruce, William, 273 
Bruton Church, l63, 179, 

195 
Buchanan, 238, 240 
Buckingham Palace, 247 
Burgoyne, 246 
Burke, 42 

Burnett, Bishop, 212 
Burwell, Carter, 176, 181 
Burwell, Edward, 173 
Burwell, Frances, 202 
Burwell, George Harrison, 

181 
Burwell, Lewis, 172, 173, 

174, 176 
Burwell, Nathaniel, 172, 

176, 181, 184 
Burwell, Rebecca, 179, 180 
Bushrods, 108 
Butler, Ann, 127 
Byrd, 135 
Byrd arms, 140 
Byrd, Colonel Wm., 22, 26, 

73, 135, 136, 139, 141, 

143, 144, 145, 270, 272 



Byrd, Elizabeth, 130 
Byrd, Evelyn, 141, 142, 

155, 156 
Byrd, Jane, 236 
Byrd, Maria, 22, 26 
Byrd, Mrs. Mary Willing, 

143 
Byrd, Ursula, 73 
Byrd, William, 2nd, 139, 

155, 158, 206 
Byrd, William, 3rd, 138, 

146 
Byron, Lord, 33 



Cabell, Dr. William, 236 

Cabell, Miss, 236 

Calvert, Benedict, 105 

Calverts, 108 

Canning, George, 38 

Carey, Ann, 121 

Carey, Colonel Archibald, 

121 
Caroline, Queen, 81 
Carr, Dabney, 218, 219 
Carrington, Gen. Edward, 

273 
Carrington, Judge Paul, 273 
Carrolls, 108 
Carter, 258 
Carter, Anne, 19 
Carter, Charles, 87, 127, 

128, 129, ISO, 131, 132, 

133, 213 



295 



INDEX 



Carter, Colonel John, 18, 19 
Carter, Colonel Landon, 18 

26, 27, 38, 77 
Carter, Councillor Robert, 

282, 283, 286 
Carter, Elizabeth, 176 
Carter, George, 287, 288, 

289 
Carter, Hill, 133 
Carter, homestead of, 282 
Carter, Jane, 77 
Carter, John, 146 
Carter, John, Secretary, 76, 

126, 129 
Carter, Judith, 199, 200 
Carter, King, see Carter, 

Robert of Corotoman. 
Carter, Landon, 2nd, 26 
Carter, letters, 284 
Carter, Mary, 128 
Carter, Mary W., 127 
Carter, Richardetta, 77 
Carter, Dr. Robert, 132 
Carter, Robert, 130, 282, 

283, 287 

Carter, Robert of Coroto- 
riian, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 
25, 26, 28, 38, 44, 126, 
130, 151, 184, 199, 200, 
205 

Carter, Robert Randolph, 
133 

Carter, Robert Wormeley, 
26 



Carter, William, 146 
Carter's Grove, 172-182 
Cary, 151 

Castle Hill, 229-243 
Catlett, John Tabb, 203 
Chamber layne, 1 36 
Chamberlin, 189 
Champes, 22 
Chantilly, 90 

Charles I., 44, 79, 92, 229 
Charles II., 18, 29, 92 
Charles City County, 85 
Chastellux, Marquis de, 134, 

221, 225 
Chatham, 42-51 
Chatsworth, 45 
Chesapeake River, 172 
Chew, Mistress Peggy, 58 
Chew, Thomas, 259 
Chew-Madison, 260 
Chiles, Elizabeth, 163 
Chippendale, 139, 155 
Christ Church, Lancaster 

Co., 20 
Christian, Robert, l65 
Churcliill, Hannah, 151 
Churchill, Judith, 116, 121 
Churchill, Priscilla, 282 
Claiborne, Herbert, 213 
Claiborne, William Dand- 

ridge, 213 
Clay, Henry, 33 
Claypole, Lady Betty, 156 
Coalter, 49 



f96 



INDEX 



Cocke, 258 
Cocke, Bowler, 127 
Cole, Col. William, 174 
Coverly, Sir Roger de, 205 
Coles, 244, 245, 249 
Coles, Edward, 250, 251 
Coles, Isaac, 272 
Coles, Isaac H., 273 
Coles, John, 1st, 244, 245 
Coles, John, 2nd, 244, 245 
Coles, John, 3rd, 247, 258 
Coles, Mary, 262 
Coles, Mildred, 273 
Coles, Sally, 252 
Coles, Sarah, 273, 276 
Coles, Walter, 276 
Coles, William, 262 
Commimion Service, 156 
Congressional Library, 75 
Contesse, Anne, 164 
Contesse, Dr. Louis, l63 
Conway, Eleanor Rose, 260 
Conway, Francis, 260 
Conway, Rebecca Catlett, 

260 
Cook, Anna Maria, 31 
Coolidge, J. Randolph, 123 
Corbin, Alice Eltonhead, 81 
Corbin, Anne, 37 
Corbin, Henry, 29 
Corbin, Richard, 33 
Cornwallis, Lord, 146, 187, 

234, 247 
Correa, Abbe, 225 



Cowley, Lord and Lady, 

256 
Cowpens, 58 
Coxe, Esther Maria, 111 
Cromwell, Oliver, 92, 156 
Culpcper County, 109 
Culpeper, Lord, 29, 44 
Currie, Mrs., 132 
Currie, Rev. Mr., 131 
Custis, Eleanor Parke, 105, 

112 
Custis, George Washington 

Parke, 48, 112 
Custis, Martha, 48 
Custis, Nellie, 54, 105, 106, 

108, 111, 112 
Custis, John Parke, 105 
Custises, 108 
Cutts, Richard, 268 

D 

Dale, Sir Thomas, 115, 125 
Dandridge, Capt. William, 

210 
Dandridge, Dorothea, 211 
Dandridge, John, 48 
Dandridge, Nathaniel West, 

211 
Dandridge, William, 207, 

211 
Dandridges, 108, 207 
Davis, John, 73 
Deans, Jeanie, 155 



f07 



INDEX 



Deans, Josiah Lilly, 204, 

205 
Delaware, Lords, 134 
Devonshire, Earls of, 273 
Devonshire, Lady, 274 
Dick, Mary, 107 
Dickens, Frances, 120 
Dickens, Margaret Harvie, 

121 
Digges, Colonel Cole, 151 
Digges, Mary, 151 
" Divine Matilda," 87 
Dorset, Earl of, 106 
Douthat, 146 
Drewery, Major, 147 
Dunmore, Lord, 35, 98, 99, 

284, 285, 286 

E 

Eagle's Nest, 44 
Edgar, Miss, 94 
Edmond, 246 
Edward L, 65 
Edward III., 42, 136 
Egremont, Earl, 156 
Eilbeck, Anne, 94, 95 
Eilbeck, Colonel William, 

94, 95 
Elgin, 273 

Elsing Green, 207-215 
Eltonhead, Alice, 29 
Empress Josephine, 223 
Engham, Sir Thomas, 64 



Essex County, 44, 64 
Estouteville, 244-258 
Estouteville, Count d', 244 
Eton, 197 
Eustis, William C, 289, 291 



"Fair Belinda," 179 
Fairfax County, 49 
Fairfax, Lord, 282 
Fanelli, 169 
Farmer's Hall, 65 
Fauntleroy, Elizabeth 

G Wynne, 30 
Fauntleroy tract, 18 
Fauquier County, 77 
Fauquier, Governor, 283 
Fendall, Philip Richard, 87 
Field, Mary, 217 
Field, Peter, 217 
Fielding, Frances, 53, 107 
Fitzhugh, 42 
Fitzhugh, Henry, 43, 49, 

151 
Fitzhugh, Lucy Carter, 151 
Fitzhugh, Mary, 48 
Fitzhugh, Mr., 157 
Fitzhugh, William, 42, 43, 

44, 45, 47, 49 
Fitzhughs, 22 
Fitzroy, Lady Charlotte, 105 
Fleming, Anna, 262 
Floyd, Governor, l67 



298 



INDEX 



Franklin, Benjamin, 146, Grymes, Susanna, 181 
155 Gunston Hall, 92-103 

Fredericksburg, 42, 50, 52 
Fouace, Rev. Mr., 175 
Fowke, Mary, 9* 

Halifax, Lord, 156 
Hambletonian Stables, 35 
Hamilton, 240 
Hancock, 80 
Hansford, 71 
Hardaway, Edith, 163 
Harrison, Anne Randolph, 

155 
Harrison, Benjamin, 86, 

157 
Harrison, Benjamin, 2nd, 

154 
Harrison, Col. Nathaniel, 

152, 158 
Harrison, George Evelyn, 

157, 158 
Harrison, Governor, 272 
Harrison, Mrs. Benjamin, 

153, 156 
Harrison, Mrs. Evelyn 

Byrd, 157 
Harrison, Nathaniel, 150, 

151 
Harrison, Nathaniel, 2nd, 

154 
Harrison, William Henry, 

159 
Harrisons, 146, 150 
Harvard University, 44, 277 



Gardiner, Hon. David, l68 

Gardiner, Lyon, 147 

" Genial Seigneur," 142, 

148 
George I., 21, 64 
George II., 66, 142, 230 
George III., 244 
" Ghost Walk," 47 
Gloucester County, 53, 107, 

116 
Glyn, Jane, 19 
Golden Horseshoe, Knights 

of the, 64, 72, 94 
Gooch, Sir William, 81 
Goodlestone, 64 
Goodrich, Catherine, 32 
Gordon, Mr., 60 
Grace Church, 242 
Graves, Lord, 38 
Gregory, Roger, 214 
Gregory, William, 213 
Gryme, Mrs., 32 
Grymes, Alice, 200, 201 
Grymes, John, 176, 200 
Grymes, Mary Randolph, 

186 



299 



INDEX 



Harvie, Gabriella, 121, 122 
Hauteville, Madame de, 239 
Hay den, 52 
Healy, l68 
Henlys, 210 
Henry VIII., 43 
Henry, Dorothea, 211 
Henry, Governor, 35 
Henry, Mrs. Elvira Cabell, 

276 
Henry, Patrick, 100, 164-, 

211, 246 
Henry, Patrick, Jr., 276 
Hensfield, Captain Robert, 

274 
Hepplewhite, 139 
Hesselius, 44, 95 
Higginson, Lucy, 173 
Hill, Colonel Edward, 128, 

129, 130 
Hill, Edward, 126 
Hill, Elizabeth, 127, 129 
Hill, Henrietta, 31 
Hill, Sir Edward, 126 
Holbein, 212 

Hone, Major Theophilus, 71 
Hooker, 49 

Hopkins, Gov. Stephen, 147 
Hopkins, Mrs. St. George, 

68 
Horsemanden, Colonel War- 
ham, 135 
Horseslioe, Knights of the 

Golden, 64, 72, 94 



Houston, Fanny, 184 
Howard, Colonel John 

Eager, 58 
Howard, John Eager, 61 
Howard, W. Key, 60 
Howard, William, 6l 
Humphreys, Louise, 133 
Hutchins, Mr. Stilson, 289 



Indian Cave, 47 

Ingleby, Lady Frances, 150 

Ingram, 71 

Irving, Washington, 72 

I sham, Henry, ll6 

Isham, Mary, 116 



James I., 173, 273 
James City County, 85 
James River, 18, 105, 115, 
116, 124, 125, 134, 135, 
138, 146, 149, 151, 157, 
159, 170, 172, 177, 236 
Jamestown, 73, 125, 21 6 
Jefferson, Martha, 123 
Jefferson, Peter, 217 
Jefferson, Thomas, 33, 6l, 
97, 100, 101, 118, 119, 
122, 123, 152, 179, 180, 
199, 216, 217, 218, 219, 
220, 221, 223, 224, 225, 
226, 227, 234, 235, 240, 
246, 250, 263, 265 



300 



INDEX 



Jewitt, 223 

Jones, Major Churchill, 49 

Josephine, Empress, 223 

K 

Keith, William, 122 

Kenmore, 52-62 

Kent, Duchess of, 255, 257 

Kester, Paul, 102 

Key, Francis Scott, 60 

King George County, 44, 

53, 107 
King John, 70 
King and Queen County, 72 
King William County, 127 
King's Highway, 89, 98 
Kinloch, Francis, 233 
Kneller, Sir Godfrey, 32, 

105, 126, 156, 201 
Knights of the Golden 

Horseshoe, 64, 72, 94 
Knollys, Sir Francis, 209 
Kosciusko, 225 



Lacy, Major, 50 

I>acy, Mrs. J. Horace, 49 

" Lacy's," 49 

Lafayette, George Washing- 
ton, 238 

Lafayette. Marquis de, 27, 
S3, 35, 47, 61, 97, 111, 
154, 187, 190, 225, 237, 
247 



Lambeth Palace, 176 
Lancaster County, 29 
Landon, Elizabeth, 22 
Landons, 21 
Lane, Richard, 115 
Lawrence, 71 
Lear, John, 174 
Lee, Charles Carter, 88 
Lee, Colonel Richard, 80, 

81 
Lee, Colonel Thomas, 82 
Lee family, 79 
Lee, Francis Lightfoot, 37, 

83 
Lee, General Henry, 38, 87, 

127 
Lee, General Robert E., 49, 

83, 87, 128 
Lee, Hon. Thomas, 89 
Lee, Humphrey, 79 
Lee, Laetitia Corbin, 44 
Lee, Lucy Grymes, 87 
Lee, Major-Gen. Henry, 87 
Lee, Major Henry, 87, 88 
Lee, Matilda, 87 
Lee Memorial Birthplace 

Committee, 88 
Lee, Mrs. Robert E., 112 
Lee, Philip Ludwcll, 87 
Lee, Richard, 79 
Lee, Richard Henry, 27, 83. 

100 
Lee, Sir Richard, 79 
Lee, Sir Thomas, 79 



SOI 



INDEX 



Lee, Thomas, 81, 85 

Lees, 22, 108 

Leesburg, 282 

Lely, Sir Peter, 80, 157, 

195 
Levy, Commodore Uriah P., 

228 
Lewis, 107, 109 
Lewis, Colonel, 55, 60 
Lewis, Colonel Fielding, 52, 

53, 59, 107 
Lewis, Councillor John, 53 
Lewis family, 106 
Lewis, General Robert, 53, 

107 
Lewis, John, 53 
Lewis, Lawrence, 107, 108 
Lewis, Major Lawrence, 54, 

105 
Lewis, Mrs. Lawrence, 111 
Lewis, Robert, 53 
Lewis, Zachary, 53 
Lewises, 108 
" Light Horse Harry," 87, 

128 
Lightfoot, Francis, 85 
Lloyd, Colonel Edward, of 

Wye, 37 
Lloyd, Governor Edward, 

37 
Lomas, Major Thomas, 37 
London Company, 93, 273 
Long Parliament, 92 
Lossing, 223, 233 



Louis Philippe, 242 
Low, Elizabeth, 163 
Lowther, Margaret, 202 
Lowther, William, 202 
Luckin, Alice, 194 
Ludiff, Countess, 255 
Ludlow, Sarah, 19 
Ludwell, 71 

Ludwell, Colonel Philip, 85 
Ludwell, Hannah, 85 
Ludwell, Philip, 85, 86 
Lyde, David, 33 
Lyde, Major Stephen, 30 

M 

Macon, Mrs., 266 
Madison, Ambrose, 259 
Madison, Dolly, 250, 262, 

263, 268 
Madison family, 269 
Madison, James, 29, 33, 

100, 101, 225, 240, 246, 

260, 261, 263, 265, 266, 

267, 268 
Madison, John, 259 
Madison, John, 2nd, 259 
Madison, Thomas, Jr., 260 
Magruder, General, 190 
Mainwaring, Mary, 64 
Malcolm^ Mr., 282 
Malmaison, 223 
Mann, Mary, 196 
Marie Antoinette, 257 



30« 



INDEX 



Marlborough, Duke of, 105, 

136 
Marmion, 53, 107 
Marshall, Chief- Justice, 33, 

122, 180 
Martin, James, 150 
Martin, Sir Richard, 150 
Martin's Brandon Church, 

156 
Mary, Queen of Scots, 114 
Marye's Heights, 48 
Mason, 98 
Mason, Colonel, 95 
Mason, Daniel, 92 
Mason, George, 92, 93, 95, 

97, 99, 100, 101, 102 
Mason, George, 3rd, 94 
Mason, John, 246 
Mason, Mr., 109, 240 
Mason, Robert, 93 
Mason, Thomas, 246 
Mason, William, 92 
Masons, 92, 108 
McCarty, Daniel, 87 
McCarty, Miss, 88 
McClellan, 146 
McDowell, 49 
McLeod, Captain, 223 
Meade, Bishop, 20, 90, 174, 

283, 286 
Meriwether, Nicholas, 230 
Meriwether, Widow, 230 
Middle Plantation, l60 
Middlesex County, 70 



Minge, Collier, 159 
Minges, 159, l67 
Moncure, John, 95 
Monroe, James, 29, 33, 225, 

240, 246, 250, 262, 265, 

266 
Montacute, Viscount, 212 
Monticello, 216-228 
Montpelier, 259-269 
Moore, Ann Butler, ISO 
Moore, Bernard, 127 
Mordaunt, Charles, 142 
Morton, Hon. Levi P., 291 
Morton, Miss, 291 
Moryson, Francis, 71 
Mount Airy, 29-41 
Mount Alexander, 64 
Mount George, 64, 65 
Mount Pleasant, 90 
Mount Vernon, 104, 108, 

109, 111 

N 

Napier, Lady, 238, 240 
Napier, Lord, 238 
Nelson, Colonel Hugh, 236 
Nelson, General, 187 
Nelson, General Thomas, 

132 
Nelson, Governor, 188. 189 
Nelson House, 183-191 
Nelson, Mary, 130 
Nelson, Mrs. 190 
Nelson, Sarah, 183 



303 



INDEX 



Nelson, Thomas, 183, 184, 

186, 233 
Nelsons, 22 
Nelton, Thomas, 223 
Nicholson, Governor, 174, 

175 

O 

Oatlands, 282-291 
Octagon House, 32 
Ogle, Anne, 32 
Ogle, Benjamin, Jr., 31 
Ogle, Governor Benjamin, 

31, 38 
Ogle, Governor Samuel, 31 
Ogle, Mrs., 31 
Oglethorpe, 210 
Orchard, Ann, 162 
Orrery, Earl of, 144, 156 
Oxford, 80 



Page, Alice Lucken, 196 
Page, Capt, Matthew, 194, 

196, 197 
Page, Colonel John, 38, 

194, 195, 196 
Page, Colonel Mann, 38 
Page, Dr. Richard Chan- 

ning Moore, 193 
Page, Gov. John, 200 
Page, John, 163, 180, 192, 

193, 202, 203, 283 



Page, Lucy, 181 

Page, Major-General Sir 

John, 193 
Page, Mann, 121, 181, 197, 

198, 199, 205 
Page, Mann, 2nd, 200, 201 
Page, Mary, 121 
Page, Matthew, 199 
Page, Mrs. Mann, 33 
Page, Philip, 205 
Page, Sir Gregory, 193 
Page, Sir Thomas Hyde, 

193 
Page, Thomas, 193 
Palace Green, 163 
Pamunkey River, 207, 215 
Pannill, Miss, 275 
Parke, Colonel Daniel, 105, 

136 
Parke, Governor, 156 
Parke, Lucy, 136 
Parliament, 43, 93 
Parr, Catherine, 43 
Patterson, Lucy, 121, 122 
Paulett, Capt. Thomas, 134 
Paulett, Sir John, 134 
Pawnee, 67 
Payne, Dorothy, 262 
Payne, John, 262 
Peachy, Susanna, 230 
Peale, Charles Wilson, 130, 

157 
Pendleton, 258 
Perry, Wm., 141 



304 



INDEX 



Peter, Jane, 77 
Peterborough, Earl of, 137 
Peterborough, Lord, 142 
Phillips, General, 157 
Pierce, William, \'274 
Plater, Governor George, 

30, 33 
Pocahontas, 131 
Pope's Creek Church, 89 
Porter, Fitz John, 147 
Potomac River, 18, 79, 95, 

96, 98, 104, 106, 109, 

283, 284, 286 
Potts, Mrs. Allen, 243 
Powell, Kate, 289 
Powers, 59 
Powhatan, 197 
Preston, 258 

Prince George County, 73 
Prince, Governor Thomas, 

147 
Prince William County, 77 

Q 

Queen Anne, 94, 136 
Queen Caroline, 81 

R 

Ramsay, Mrs. Clarise 

Sears, 1 47 
Randall, Mr., 155 
Randolph, 114, 240, 246 
Randolph, Anne, 158 



Randolph, Anne Boiling, 45 
Randolph, Ellen Wayles, 

123 
Randolph, Jane, 217 
Randolph, Jane Rogers, 217 
Randolph, Martha Jeffer- 
son, 225 
Randolph, Peter, 131 
Randolph, Peter, of Chats- 
worth, 45 
Randolph, Peyton, 27, 283 
Randolph, Robert, 114, 133 
Randolph, Sir John, ll6, 

186 
Randolph, Thomas, 115, 

116, 121 

Randolph, Thomas Jeffer- 
son, 225 
Randolph, Thomas Mann, 

117, 121, 123 
Randolph, Thomas Mann, 

Jr., 120, 121 
Randolph, Thomas Mann, 

2nd, 122 
Randolph, William, 114,. 

115, 121, 123, 217 
Randolph, William, 2nd, 1 1 7 
Randolphs, 22, 118, 119 
Rappahannock River, 1 8, 

29, 31, 34, 37, 46, 50, 

52, 67, 68, 69, 74, 283 
Ravensworth, 42, 49 
Redding, Thomas, 192 
Reid, Margaret, 184 



305 



INDEX 



Revolution, 47, 98, 101, 106, Roses, Wars of, 43 
123, 178, 190, 202, 203, Rosewell, 192-206 



213, 223, 233, 246 
Revolution, Sons of, 99 
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 26, 

31, 283 
Richards, Mrs., 275 
Richmond, 154, 157, 187, 

207, 210, 211, 225 
Richmond County, 29 
Riedesels, de, 225 
Ritchie, Thomas, 158 
Rivanna River, 217 
Rives, Amelie, 242 
Rives, Amelie Louise, 242 
Rives, Colonel Alfred Lan- 

don, 242 
Rives, Hon. William C, 

231 
Rives, Mr., 238, 239 
Rives, Mrs., 240, 243 
Rives, Mrs. Sarah C, 242 
Rives, Mrs. William C, 242 
Rives portraits, 232 
Rives, William C, 2S6 
Rives, William C, Jr., 239 
Rives, William Cabell, 236 
Roberts, 258 
Rochefoucauld, Due de La, 

S19, 221, 225 
Rolfe, Thomas, 131 
Roscow, Wilson, 210 
" Rose of Epping Forest," 
the. 54 



Rutherford, 258 
Ryland, Elizabeth, 115 



Sabine Hall, 17-28 

Sackville, Stockville, 137 

Sackville-West, Lord, 137 

Saint Mary's River, 284 

Sale, 65 

Sale, Humphrey, 65 

Sales, 210 

Salisbury, Marchioness of, 

255 
Sargent, Professor, 140 
Saunders, Dr. Walton, 68 
Scott, 170 
Sears, 147 

Sears, David, 239, 242 
Selden, Col. John, 146 
Selim, 283 

Sevigne, INIadame de, 112 
Sharp, Elizabeth, 111 
Sherman, General, 252 
Sherwood Forest, 159-171 
Shirley, 125-133 
Shirley, Elizabeth, 19 
Shirley, Sir Thomas, 125 
Shippen, Peggy, 138 
Sigourney, Mrs., 242 
Sigourney, Mrs. Henry, 242 
Singleton, 258 



306 



INDEX 



Sir Archy, 34, 35 
Skelton, Bathurst, 220 
Skipwith, 249 
Skipwith, Lady, 258 
Skipwitli, Selina, 258 
Skipwith, Sir Grey, 38 
Skipwith, Sir Peyton, 258 
Skipwiths, 22 
Smith, Elizabeth, 115 
Smith, Gen. Robert Gibson, 

102 
Soane, Judith, 217 
Soutcoat, Otho, 134 
Southwell, Sir Robert, 144, 

156 
Specht, Joseph, 102 
Spotwood, ISO 
Spotswood, Dorothea, 211 
Spotswood, Governor, 50, 

64, 65, 127, 211, 273, 275 
Spotswood, Lady, 67 
Spotswoods, 210 
Spotswood's larks, 51 
Stafford County, 42, 44, 60, 

95 
Starke, Mrs., 88 
" Star-spangled Banner," 

60 
Stegg, Grace, 135 
Stegg, Thomas, 135 
Steptoe, Elizabeth, 87 
Stevenson, Andrew, 252 
Stevenson, Mr., 256 
Stewart, Dr. Richard, 88 



St. James, Court of, 155, 

179 
St. Memins, 130 
Stratford Hall, 79-91 
Stratford-upon-Avon, 92 
Strieker, 258 
Stubblefield, Col. George, 

276 
Stubblefield, Frances, 276 
Stuart, 32, 117 
Stuart, Gilbert, 106 
Sumner, 49 



Talbot County, 37 
Taliaferro, Sarah, 66 
Tappahannock, 65 
Tarleton, 178, 179, 223, 

224, 233, 234, 235 
Tasker, Hon. Benjamin, 

283 
Tasker, Frances, 282, 284 
Tayloe, 29, 30 
Tayloe, Anne Corbin, 201 
Tayloe, Benjamin Ogle, 32 
Tayloe, Colonel, 35, 40 
Tayloe, Colonel John, 30, 

34, 77, 201 
Tayloe, Colonel John, 2nd, 

32, 33, 35 
Tayloe, Colonel John, 3rd, 

32, 38 
Tayloe, Colonel William, 40 



807 



INDEX 



Tayloe, Elizabeth, 27, 33 
Tayloe, Henry, 40 
Tayloe, Mrs. John, 32, 33 
Tayloe, Mrs. John, 2nd, 33 
Tayloe, William Henry, 32 
Taylor, Evelyn, 158 
Taylor, Frances, 259 
Taylor, James, 259 
Taylor, Maria, 136 
Taylor, Miss, 155 
Taylor, Mrs. Fielding 

Lewis, 205 
Taylor, President Zachary, 

111, 260 
Taylor, William, 29, 31 
Tazewell, 246 
Thomas, Douglas H., 44 
Thompson, Giovanni, 168 
Thomson, Anne, 94 
Thomson, Stevens, 94 
Thornton, Colonel John, 59 
Thornton, Francis, 107 
Thornton, Lucy, 67 
Thornton, Mildred, 230 
Thornton, Sir Edward, 38 
Thornton, William, 261 
Todd, Dorothy Payne, 260 
Todd, Payne, 268 
Tower of London, 234 
Trollope, Anthony, 33 
Troubetskoy, Princess, 232, 

242 
Tuckahoe, 114-124 
Tucker, 184 



Tucker, Elizabeth Travis, 

247 
Tucker, John, 43, 246 
Tucker, Mary E., 246 
Turkey Island, 115, ll6 
Turner, Sir Gregory Page, 

193 
Tuileries, 262 
Tjder, Governor, 164 , 
Tyler, Henry, l62, l63 
Tyler, Joanna, 163 
Tyler, Judge David Gar- 
diner, 170 
Tyler, John, l64 
Tyler, Mrs., l68, l69 
Tyler, Mrs. Letitia Chris- 
tian, 169 
Tyler, President, 159, 160, 

164, 167 
Tyler, Rev. William, 160 
Tyler, Wat le, l62 
Tylers, 160 

U 

Underwood tract, 18 
United States Capitol, 261 
University of Virginia, 225, 
243, 277 



Van Dyck, 283 

Vane, Lady, 33 

Virginia Bill of Rights, 101 



308 



INDEX 



Virginia Company, 63, 150, 
173 

Virginia State Camp, Patri- 
otic Sons of America, 88 

w 

Wager, Charles, 156 

Wakefield, 90 

Walker, Dr., 223, 231, 234, 

235 
Walker, Dr. Thomas, 229, 

230 
Walker, Francis, 2S6 
Walker, Judith Page, 236 
Walker, Mildred Thornton, 

236 
Walker, Sir Thomas, 229 
Walker, Thomas, 229, 230 
Wallace, Euphar, 210 
Waller, 205 

Walpole, Sir Robert, 155 
Waltho, Speaker, 155 
Warner, Augustine, 53, 205 
Warner, Elizabeth, 53, 107 
Warner, Isabella, 53 
Wars of the Roses, 43 
Washington, Bushrod, 119 
Washington, Charles, 107 
Washington City Jockey 

Club, 35 
Washington, Col. Wm. 

Augustine, 38 
Washington, George, 27, 



29, 33, 39, 40, 47, 48, 53, 

57, 61, 95, 98, 100, 105, 

106, 108, 109, 112, 130, 

187, 188, 225, 233, 237, 

240, 283 
Washington, Martha, 48, 

207 
Washington, Mary, 57, 61 
Washington, Miss Betty, 53, 

56, 107 
Washington, Mrs., 99 
Waterford, Marquis of, 38 
Waugh, Elizabeth, 94 
Wayles, Martha, 122, 220 
Webster, Daniel, 33, 240, 

242 
Wellford, A. N., 27 
Wellford, Dr. Beverly R., 

27 
Wellington, 38 
Werowocomoco, 197 
West, Benjamin, 155 
West, Unity, 210 
West, Widow, 115 
Wests, 210 

Westhorpe, John, 156 
Westminster Abbey, 179 
Westmoreland County, 79, 

85, 93 
Westover, 134-148 
Westover Church, 143 
"White Lady," the, 47 
Wight, Edwin, 123 
Wigton, Earl of, 262 



309 



INDEX 



Wilkes, Thomas, 234 
Wilkins, Eliza, 277 
Wilkins, William, 277 
William the Coriqaeror, 208 
William and Mary College, 

201 
William of Orange, 212 
Williams, Miss, 130 
Williamsburg, 35, 59, l60, 
163, 169, 181, 186, 187, 
195, 201, 233, 258, 283 
Willing, Mary, 138, 14-6 
Willis, Colonel Francis, 176 
Willis, Mrs. Elizabeth, 22 
Willis, Nellie, 266 
Wilson, Harriet, 121, 122 
Windsor Castle, 33 
Wingate, Robert, 173 
Winston, Isaac, 245 
Wirt, 243, 246 
Wirt, William, l64, 225 
Wolfe, General, 212 



^Voodlawn, 104-113 
Wormeley, Admiral, 33 
Wormeley, Elizabeth, 22, 26 
Wormelej', Hon. Ralph, 37, 

199 
Wormeley, Judith, 199 
Wormeley, Ralph, 36, 200 
Wraxall, 241 
Wraxall, Nathaniel, 242 
Wye, 37 
Wythe. George, 283 



Yeardley, Sir Thomas, 143 
Yeocomico River, 284 
York Conntj'^, 79 
York River, 18, 183, 192, 

204, 259 
Yorktown, 105, 132, 183, 

187, 190, 233 
Yorktown. siege of, 47 



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